CENTRAL PROVINCES
DISTRICT GAZETTEERS
AMRAOTI DISTRICT
Volume A.
Descriptive.
Edited by
S. V. FITZGERALD
Assistant Commissioner
AND
A. E. NELSON
Superintendent of Gazetteers.
PREFATORY NOTE.
For the chapter on History and Antiquities we are
indebted to the scholarship of Major Haig and for the detail-
ed account of Agriculture to Mr, D. Clouston. Several other
gentleman have contributed articles concerning subjects on
which they are expert and their kindness has been gratefully
acknowledged in the course of the text. The riches of Sir
Alfred Lyall’s “Berar Gazetteer” of 1870 have been
freely plundered and we have made frequent use of the
Imperial Gazetteer of India both in the old and the new
editions. We have also been particularly fortunate in receiving
suggestions from a large number of friends, amongst whom we
especially desire to record our thanks to Mr. F. G. Sly,
Commissioner of Berar, the Hon’ble Rao Bahadur R. N.
Mudholkar, to Mr. R W. A. Prideaux and Lieut.-Colonel
Mauduit, to Mr. C. G. Rogers, Mr. E, C. Rich, Mr. Sorabji
Shapurji and Mr, Narayan Raghavendra. Mr. Clouston also
wishes to mention the assistance rendered by Mr. V. R.
Vairagkar of the Veterinary Department. Rai Bahadur Hira
Lai, Assistant Superintendent of Gazetteers has, as in previous
volumes of this series, been a great support, and excellent
clerical work has been done by Messrs. G. Pydiah Naydu,
R. G. Damle and Mohammad Nurruddin: Of the illustrations
some are from photographs specially taken for this volume,
others from originals kindly lent by Messrs. Williamson and
Bartlett, Forest Officers in the Melghat and by Saiyid Azmat
Husain, Khatib of Ellichpur.
S. V. FG.
A. E. N.
Note, — This Volume is complete in itself and can be used apart
from Volume B which is a collection of administrative statistics,
S. V, FG.
AMRAOTI
DISTRICT GAZETTEER.
CONTENTS.
Chapter.
List of the Deputy Commissioners who
HAVE HELD CHARGE OF THE DISTRICTS
OF Amraoti and Ellichpur ...
I, General Description —
Boundaries and Physical Features...
Geology
Botany
Wild Animals and Birds ... ‘
Rainfall amd Climate
Paciag page.
Page,
1—5
5—12
12 — 17
17—25
25—29
2. History and Avchesology —
History
Archeology ...
3. Population —
Statistics of Population
Religion
Castes
Social Life and Customs
Leading Families
30 — 100
loi — 104
105— 1 14
114 — 128
128—7146
146—154
i 54— -177
4, Agriculture —
Soils ...
Live Stock ...
Statistics of Cultivation ...
Crops
178 — 181
181 — 189
189—191
19 I — 224
CONTENTS.
iv
Chapter, Page,
5 Loans, Pvices, Wages, Manufactnns, Markets
and Fairs, Trade and Communications —
Loans ...
••• 225—330
Prices
... 230—233
Wages
... 234—236
Manufactures
... 236 — 241
Weights and Measures
... 241— r244
Fairs and Markets ...
... 244—247
Trade
... 247-254
Communications
... 254—259
6. Forests and Minerals —
Forests
... 260—272
Minerals
... 272 — 273
7. Famine
1
00
00
8. Land Revenue Administration
... 289—319
g. General Administration
... 320—345
APPENDIX.
Gazetteer of Taluks, Towns, important Villages,
Rivers and Hills ...
349—437
LIST OF MAPS, A]SlD,PHOTOGRAPHS.
I.
Jami Masjid, Gawilgarh
... Frontispiece.
2.
District Map
Facing page i
3-
The Amba Gate, Amraoti'
2
4.
Geological Map '■
• 5
5-
Bamboo jungle on the Tapti ...
16
6.
Large Darwaza
52
7-
Nau Gaz top
87
8.
The outer fort, Gawilgarh
95
9-
North end of Great Mosque, Gawilgarh ... loi
10.
The Amba Temple
117
II.
Tomb of Shah Abdur Rahman...
12.
Melghat Korkus
156
13-
View of the Mahadeo Hills
166
14-
Dula Darwaza, Ellichpur City..* ^
... ... 173
15-
Umarda bullock '
... - ... 181
16.
Khanigaon bullock ' -
' ... - 182
17.
Cottons grown in Berar ...
... ... igi
18.
Cotton Market, Amraoti
233
19*
The stone at Bairam
245
20.
Map of Railways and Roads
255
21.
Berar Chhakra and Bullocks ...
256
22.
Holy Teak Trees, Melghat
262
23.
Puma Bridge at Assegaon
320
24.
Chikaldd Map
378
25-
General View of Gawilgarh from Chikalda ... 381
26.
Chauk Masjid, Ellichpur
390
27.
Idgah of Sultan Imad-ul-Mulk ...
— 397
28.
Garga River Scene, Melghat ...
i 493
29.
Melghat Forest Road
... 4i5->
PARAGRAPH INDEX.
Chapter L— GENERAL DESCRIPTION.
Boundanes and Physical Featuyesi —
1.
Boundaries and Physical F eatures ...
I
2.
Hills
2
3 -
The Plains
3
4 -
Rivers
5 *
Elevations...
4
Geology —
6.
Geological Formation
5
7 -
Cotton Soil
ib
8.
Puma Alluvium ...
6
9 -
Formation of the Alluvium
9
ij?..
Laterite ... . ....
ib.
It.
Deccan Trap .
1©
12.
Inliers of Gondwanas, Lametas and Meta*
morphics
II
Botany —
13 *
1 . Amraoti Forest Division. Plants of
Village Waste ...
12
14.
Roadside plants and garden trees ...
13
15-
Forest and waste land trees ...
ib.
16.
Bamboos...
15
17.
Grasses... ' ...
ib.
18.
II. Melghat ... ... ... • ...
ib.
Wild Animals and Birds—
19. Ground Fauna ... ... - ... - ... 17
20. Birds ... ... ... - ... ... 24 *
Rainfcdl and Climate — ...
21. Rainfall ... ... ... ... ... 25
22. Climate ... ... ... ... ... 26
Chapter IL—HISTORY AND ARCHAEOLOGY.
History —
23. Legendary period ... ... ... 30
24* The Mahkbharata ... ... ... ib.
i^ARAGRAPtt INDEJi.
vii
Page.
25. Abdur Rahmao the Ghazi ... ... 31
26. Pachpiriya legends ... ... ... 32
27. Hindu period ... ... ... ... 33
28. Th& Rashtrakutas and Vakatakas ... ... 34
29. The Chalukyas ... ... ... ... ih.
30. The Yadavas of Deogiri ... ... ... 35
31. The Muhammadan period. Invasion of the
Deccan ... ... »», 36
32. Ala-ud-din ascends the throne ... ... 37
33. Rebellion in Deogiri ... ... ... ih.
34. Tughlak Shah ... ... ... ... 38
35. Organisation of the provinces of the Deccan ih.
36. Rebellion of the Amirs of the Deccan ... 39
37. The Bahmanis ... ... ... ... ih,
38. Safdar Khan, Governor of Berar ... ... 40
39. Mujahid Shah ... ... ... ... 41
40. Salabat Khan, Governor of Berar. War with
Kherla ... ... ... ... ... 42
41. Wars with Vijayanagar and Gondwana ... 44
42. Khan-i-Jahan appointed Governor of Berar ih.
43. Ahmad Shah visits Ellichpur ... ... 45
44. War with Gujarat and Malwa ... ... 47
45. War with Khandesh ... ... ... 48
46. War with Vijayanagar ... ... •••49
47. Invasion of the Deccan by Mahmud of
Malwa ... ... ... ... ... ih,
48. War with Kherla ... ... ... ... 50
49. Fateh-ullah Imad-ul-Mulk ... ... ■••52
50. Redistribution of provinces .. . ... •■. 53
51. Disaffection of the Tarafdars of Berar ”... 54
52. Accession of Mahmud Shah ... ih,
53. Fateh-ullah Imad-ul-Mulk independent ••• 55
34. Combination against Bijapur ... ... 56
53. Death of Fateh-ullah I mad Shah ... ... 58
36. Ala-ud‘din Imad Shah ... ... •■•59
37. War with Ahmadnagar ... ... ... ih.
38. The affair of Pathri ... ... ... 60
39. Pathri recovered. War with Ahmadnagar
and Bidar... ... ... !*• 61
paragraph index.
viii
Page.
6o.
War with Golconda
64
6i.
Darya I mad Shah
65
62.
Alliance with Ahmadnagar ...
ih.
63,
Invasion of Ahmadnagar ...
66
64.
Burhan Imad Shah
67
65.
Invasion of Berar...
69
66.
Annexation of Berar by Ahmadnagar
ih.-
Berar a province of Ahmadnagar . . .
73
68.
Rumours of invasion from the north
74
6g.
Mughal raid on Berar
76
70.
Accession of Ismail Nizam Shah ...
ib.
71.
Burhan’s first attempt to gain his kingdom
77
72.
The Mughals invite^^to Ahmadnagar
78
73;
Cession of Berar to Akbar
79
74.
Death of Murad and fall of Ahmadnagar
80
75-
The Ain-i-Akbarl ...
81
76.-
Malik Ambar ... ... ■
...
82
77-
Malik Ambar occupies Berar
ib.
78.
Treachery of the Khan-i-Jahan
83
79.
Accession of Shahjahan ...
84
80.
Famine ...
85
81!:
Redistribution of Deccan provinces
ib.
82^
The Deccan provinces again redistributed.
Aurangzeb
86
83.
Campaign in Golconda and Gondwana
ib.
84.
Accession of Aurangzeb and siege
of
Golconda
87
85.
Maratha raids
ib.
86.
Accession of Bahadur Shah
*».
88
87.
Accession of Farrukhsiyar
...
89.
88.
Plots of the Saiyids and accession
of
. Muhammad Shah
ih.
8g.
Asaf Jah obtains the Viceroyalty of 1
the
Deccan ... ...
go
90.
Disputes regarding the succession
in
Hyderabad
91
gi.
Accession of Nizam Alf and civil war
92
92.
Affairs at Nagpur. Overthrow of Ismail
_ ...
Khan in Berar ... ... ....
93
Paragraph index.
IX
Page.
93-
Attempt to oust the Marathas ... ...
94
94*
Disturbance in Ellichpur and siege of
Gawllgarh
ib.
95*
Fall of Gawilgarh
96
96.
Treaties of Deogaon and Anjangaon
98
97.
Civil and Military administration ...
ib.
98.
Third Maratha war, Pindar i war, Treaty
of 1822 and the Assignment
99
99.
The Mutiny and the treaty of 1861
ib.
100.
Administration since the Assignment. Pro-
gress since Mutiny
100
Archisolog}
—
101.
Gawilgarh ... ... ...
101
102.
Ellichpur ...
104
Chapter III.-~-P0PULATI0N.
Statistics of Population —
103.
Statistics ...
105
104.
Growth of population
107
105^
Population and Cultivation
108
106.
Other Pursuits
ib.
107.
Migration ...
log
108.
Diseases ...
ib.
log.
Language — ^Marathi
Ill
no.
Other languages ...
112
Religion —
III.
Statistics of Religion
114
H2.
Village deities
115
Other village deities
117
114.
Omens
119
1T5.
Magical ceremonies
120
1 16.
The Manbhao Sect...
121
117.
Worship of Shah Dawal ...
123
118.
Muhammadans
124
. 119«
Christians ...
125
PARAGRAtri INDEX.
Caste— Page.
120. Principal castes ... ... ... ... 128
121. Brahman ... ... ... ... ...
122. Rajput ... ... ... ... ••• 3:30
123. Wani or Bania. ... ... ...
124. KunbI ... ’ ... ... ••• •‘^31
125. Gaoll ... ... ... ••• 132
126. Dhangar ... ... ... ...
127. Korku ... ... ... 133
128. Impure classes ... ... 13^
129. Mahar, Mang and Chambhar ... ... 139
130. Crirhihal tribes — Pardhis ... ... ... 1 41
13 1. Bhamlis, Mangs, Garudis etc. ... ... 144
Social Life and, Customs —
132. Names of villages... ... ... ” ... 146
133. The village ... ... ... 147
134. Games and amusements ... ... •••153
Leading Families —
135. Leading families
136. The Deshmukhs — Daryapur
137. „ Ellichpur
138. „ Jarud
139. The Kale family of Warud...
140. The Deshpandes — Anjangaon^
141. „ Ellichpur ....
142. The Melghat Rajas...
143. Exchange of villages by Makla Raja
144. Changes in the police system
145. Position of the tenants in jagir villages
146. Kalamgana Jagir ...
147. Izara villages
148. Muhammadans — Khatib and Kazi ...
149. The Nawabs of Ellichpur ...
150. The jSgirdars ’ ... ... ..#
151. Other families
Chapter IV— AGRICULTURE.
Soils —
152. Classes of soil ... ... ... 178
•• 155
.. 156
.. ib.
.. 158
.. 158
.. ih,
•• 158
.. 163
.. ib,
.. 164
.. 167^
.. 168
.. 169
.. 172
.. 174
PARAGRAl’M IiNDEX,
XI
153. Berar system of soil classification ...
Page.
i8q
154. Cultivators— Cultivating castes
... ih.
Live Stoch—
155. Umarda breed
... 181
156* Khamgaon breed
... 182
157. Melghat and other breeds ...
... 183
158. Deterioration and scarcity of cattle
... ib.
159. Cattle rearing
... 184
160. Cattle breeding
... ib.
161. Grazing areas
... 185
162. Working life of a bullock ...
... 186
163. Buffaloes ...
... ib.
164. Ponies
... ib.
165. Donkeys ...
... 187
166. Sheep, goats and pigs
... ib.
167. Diseases ... ... ... ^ ...
... ib.
168. Weeds and fodder grasses
... 188
Statistics of Cultivation-^
1 69. Occupied and cropped area
... 189
170. Fallows
... ib.
lyr. Statistics of Crops...
... igo
Cvops — . ..
172. Cotton
... 191
^75* Jari
... ib.
174. Bani
... 193
175. Upland Georgian ...
... ib.
♦176. Buri
... ib.
177. Rotation ...
... 194
178. Manure
... ib.
179. Tillage implements and tools
... 195
i8a. Seed selection
... 196
181. Insect and animal pests ...
... 197
182. Cotton wilt
... 198
183. Cost of cultivation and profit
... 199
184. Juari
... 200
185. Juari cultivation ...
... 201
PARAGRAPH INDEX.
186.
Harvesting and threshing juari
Page
... 201
187.
Winnowing
... 202
188.
Juari pests
... ib.
189.
Fungoid diseases and parasitic weeds
... 203
190.
Cost of cultivation and profit
... 204
I9I.
Tur
... ih.
192.
Diseases and pests
... 205
193-
Til
... 206
194.
Insect pests
... 207
195 -
Urad
... ih.
196.
Bajra or spiked millet
... 208
197 -
Tobacco ...
... 209
198.
Cultivation
... ih.
199 -
Wheat
... 211
200.
Gram
... 212
201.
Insect pests
... 213
202.
Linseed ...
... ih.
203.
Masur and Safflower
... ib.
204.
Garden Cultivation
... 214
205.
Oranges, etc. ... .
... 215
206.
Implements
... 216
207.
Gardens in the District
... ib.
20k
Chillies ...
...
209.
Cultivation...
217
210.
Turmeric ...
... ib.
211.
Omons (hdnda)
219
212.
VoidXoes {midlu) ...
... ih.
213.
Betel vine...
... 220
214.
Idielons ihJiarbuj)
... 221
215.
Other crops
... 22a
216.
Statement of crops... ... .
... ih.
217,
Coffee and Tea
... ib.
Chapter V— LOANS, PRICES, WAGES, .
MANUFACTURES, MARKETS AND FAIRS,
TRADE AND COMMUNICATIONS*
Lams —
2 1 8. Government loans V..r 225
218. Private bans ... ’V.. ‘ ... 226
PARAGRAPH INDEX.
xiii
220. Dam Dupat ...
Page.
... 227
221. Bankers ...
... 228
222. Economic condition of the cultivators
... ih.
Pvices —
223. History
... 230
224. Prices of cotton.
... 232
225, Miscellaneous articles
233
Wages--^
226. Agriculture and other unskilled labour
... 234
227. Skilled labour
... 236
Manufactuns —
228. Cotton spinning and pressing ...
... ih
229. Other factories
... 237
230. Cottage industries
.. 238
231. Hand* weaving ...
... 239
232. Metal working
... 240
233. Other industries
... 241
234. Weights
... ih
235. Measures ...
... 242
236. Measures of length
... 243
237. The Calendar
... ih.
Mavhets and Fain —
238. Fairs ,
... 244
239. Markets
... 245
240. Cotton markets ...
... 247
241. Trade in former years
... ih.
242. Rail-borne trade ...
... 249
243. Railway rates ...
... 252
244. Classes engaged in trade, ,
... ih.
245. Excess of exports over imports - , ....
... 253
Communications — ' .
246. System of Communications '
... 254
247. Railways completed ...
... %h. '
XIV
PARAGRAPH INDEX.
248.
Main roads
Page,
255
249.
Proposed new Railways
257
250.
Accommodation for Travellers »
ih.
Chapter VI.—FORESTS AND MINERALS.
Fonsts —
251.
Government Forests
260
352.
Description — Amraoti Division
261
353‘
The Melghat Division
262
254.
System of Management
263
255-
Melghat forest •
264
256.
Present management of the District forest
265
257.
C Class forest
266
258.
Collection of revenue ...
267
259-
Minor forest products
269
260.
Receipts and expenditure
270
261,
Area closed and open to grazing
272
262.
Private Forests
ib.
263.
Roadside Arboriculture.
ib.
Minerals-^
264.
Minerals
ib.
265.
Chapter VII.—FAMINE.
Early famines
274
266.
Famine in the plain taluks — 1896-97 ....
275
267.
1899-1900
276
‘ 268.
Relief works
277
269.
Village works ...
278
270.
Relief to weavers
279
271.
Gratuitous relief
ib.
272.
Indirect relief
280
273.
Charitable relief
ib.
274.
Cattle and fodder
281
275-
Public health and crime
282
276.
Eflfects of the famine and history of succeed-
ing years ... 283
PARAGRAPH INDEX. XV
277.
Famine in the Melghat— 1896-97
Page
... 283
278,
Relief works
.. 284
279.
Gratuitous relief
... 285
280.
Indirect relief
... ib.
281.
Private charity
... 286
282.
General remarks
... ib.
283.
1899-1900
... ib.
284.
Relief works
... 287
285.
Gratuitous relief
... ib.
286.
Indirect relief
... ib.
287.
Private charity
... ib.
288.
General remarks
... 288
289.
History of succeeding years
... ib.
Chapter VIII.— LAND REVENUE
ADMINISTRATION.
Early revenue administration, Pre-Muham-
madan period 289
Early Muhammadan period. 1294A.D.-1596 a.d. 290
Mughal period. 1596 a.d. to 1720 a.d. ... '292
Period of double Government {Do Amli)
Maratha and Nizam, 1720 A.D.-1803 a.d. ... 294
Period of Nizam’s Sovereignty. 1803-1853 a.d, 293
Land tenure and the position of revenue
officials prior to 1853 297
Early British administration, 1853-1869 ... 299
Berar Survey and, Settlement system... ... 302,,
Land tenure ... ..., ... 304
Original Settlement ... ' 305
Revision Settlement 307
Land Revenue administration of the Melghat 309
Special tenures in the Melghat 313
Tenures. Ryotwari tenure 314
Jagir tenure ... , ih.
Palampat tenure ... 317
Inam land ... ... ... ■ ... ib.
Cesses ... ... .. 318
290.
'291.
292.
293*
294.
295 -
296.
397.
298.
299.
300.
301.
302.
303-
.304.
305,
> 306.
307-
XVI
PAE AGR APH index.
Chapter IX.-GENERAL ADMIN ISTRATIOR^^^
308. The Province and the Nizam’s Salute
... 320
309. Staff
... lb.
310. Village administration
... 322
31 1. Land Records Staff
323
312. Registration
... 324
313. Excise
... 325
314. Police
' ... 327
315. Crime
... 329
316. Village Servants. A. Jaglias...
... ih.
317. Do. B. The Mahar
...
... 330
518. Civil justice and litigation
332
319. Guardians and Wards
...
333
320. Public Works ...
... ih.
321. Jail
...
... 334
322. Hospitals
•.*
... 335
323. Vaccination
...
... 336
324. Education
...
... ih.
325. District Board
...
.... 338
326. Minor Excluded Local Funds.
A.
The
Melghat Fund
••• 339
327. Do. B. Cotton Market] Fund... ih.
328. Sanitation
...
... 340
329. Municipalities
...
... ih.
330. Statistics of Revenue ; ... •
... 342
331. Receipts and charges
... 344
APPENDIX-GAZETTEER OF TAHSILS,
TOWNS
IMPORTANT VILLAGES, RIVERS AND
PULLS!
Name of place
Ambada
- 349
Amla ...
... th.
Amner (Melghat Taluk)
... ih.
Amner (Morsi Taluk)
... 350
Amraoti Taluk
... 351
Amraoti Town
— 355
Amraoti Camp
... 361
Anjangaon Bari
... 364
GAZETTEER OF TAHSILS ETC. Xvii
of place
Page.
Anjangaon Surji
... ih.
Asadpur .. *
365
Assegaon
...
... 366
Bahlili, — See Daryapur
... *&.
Badnera
...
Bairagarh
... 368
Bairam Ghat
... 369
Bairat
... ih
Balgaon Jagir or Walgaon ...
... ib.
Bavm — See Warud
... 370
Belura
... ib.
Bemla River
... ib.
Benoda
... 371
Bhatkuli ...
... ib.
Bhiltek
... ib.
Brahmanwada ThadI
... 372
Chandrabhaga River
. . . ib.
Chandur Taluk
... tb.
Chandur Town
... 376
Chandur Bazar
••• 377
Chendkapur
... 378
Chikalda
... tb.
Dabheri
... 382
Daryapur Taluk
... ib.
Daryapur ...
... 386
Dattapur Dhamangaon
... 387
Deogaon
... 388
Dewalwara or Deurwada ...
... ib.
Dhamangaon
... tb.
Dhamangaon — see Dattapur
Dhamantri
. . ib.
Dhanora
... 389
Dharni
...
... ib.
Ellichpur Sub-division
... 390
Ellichpur Taluk
... ih.
Ellichpur City
••• 394
Ellichpur Civil Station
... 401
GAZETTEER OF TAHSILS ETC.
Name of place
Garga River.
Ganoja
Gawilgarh
Ghatang
Ghuikhed
Harisal
Hiwarkhed
Jarud ...
Kapustalni
Karasgaon
Kaundinyapur
Khallar
Khanzamanagar
Khav Talegaon — See Talegaon Khar
Kholapur
“Kondeshwar
K-flrha
Lasora
Loni ...
Mahimapur
Mahuli Jagir
Malkapuv — See Sendurjana (Morsi Taluk)
Malkhed
Mangrul Dastgir
Marki
Melghat Taluk
Mojhri ... ...
Mojhri ...
Morsi Taluk ...
Morsi Town
Mota .. ...
Nandgaon Peth
Nandgaon Kazi
Ner Pinglai
Palaskhed
Pavatwada — See Ellichpur Civil Station
Page.
... 403
... 404
... tb.
... ib,
... ib,
... 405
ib,
... ib,
... 406
... ib.
... ib,
ib.
... ib.
... 407
... ib.
... ib.
... 408
... ib.
... ib.
... ib,
... ib.
... lb,
... 409
... ib.
... ib.
... ib.
... 415
... fb.
... 416
' ... 419
.... 420
... zb.
... ib.
... 421
... ib.
... ib.
GAZETTEER OF TAHSILS ETC,
XIX
Name of place
Page.
Pathrot
... 421
Pedhi River
... 422
Peth [Muhammad Nagav. — See Anjangaon Surji... ib.
Piarna River ;
. . . ib.
Pusda...
... 423
Pusla
... ib.
Rajura
' ib.
Railway Chanduv — See Chandur Town
... ib.
Ridhpur or Ritpur
...
... ib.
Rinmochan
... 424
SalbardI
... ib.
Sategaon
...
... 426
Satpura Hills
... ib.
Saur
... 427
Sawanga
... ib.
Sawalpur
... ib.
Sembadoh
... ib.
Sendurjana ( Morsi Taluk )
... 428
Sendurjana ( Chandur Taluk )
... ib.
Sendurjana Buzruk
... ib.
Shahnnr River
... ib.
Shirala
... 429
Shivasgaon Band-See Chandur Bazar
... ib.
Shirasgaon Kasba
... ib.
Sipna River
... ib.
Siirji — See Anjangaon Surji
... ib.
Takerkhera
... ib.
Talegaon Dashasar
... 430
Talegaon Khar
... ib.
Talegaon Thakur
... 431
Tapti River
...
... ib.
Thugaon
433
Tiosa
... ib.
Uprai
... ib.
Wadali — See Amraoti Camp
... ib.
Wadner Gangai
... ih,
XX
GAZETTEER OF TAHSILS ETC.
Name of place Page.
IValgaofi Jagiv — See Balgaon JagJr 434
Wamsd — See Daryapur ib.
Wardha River ib.
Wardha 435
Warud Bagaji ... ib.
Warud or Barur ib.
Wathoda 436
Wirud ib.
Yaoli ib.
Yeoda tb.
List of Deputy Commissioners who have held charge of the AmraoH
District, with the dates of their periods of office.
Period.
From
To
D. Cs,
North i
I. Mr.T. H. Bullock ...
1853
13-9-1857
2. Capt. Meadows Taylor
14-9-1857
end of Feb.
Berar,
Mr. T. H. Bullock ...
end of Feb.
1858
1858
end of Dec.
1858
3. Captain J. Allardyce
Jany. 1859
11-2-1862
4*
J. G. Bell
12-2-1862
13-5-1862
5-
J. T. Bushby
i 4-5- i 862
Nov, 1863
J . Allardyce
Nov. 1863
2-2-1866
6. Lieut.
H. C. A. Szczepanski ...
3-2-1866
1-4-1866
Captain J. Allardyce
2-4-1866
Dec. 1866
J. G. Bell
Dec. 1866
12-4-1868
7*
T, Fitz Gerald
13-4-1868
12-6-1868
J. G. Bell
13-6-186S
20-4-1870
8. Major
H. C. Menzies
21-4-1870
11-5-1870
g. Captain D. W. Laughton
12-5-1870
20-7-1870
J. G. Bell
21-7-1870
6-3-1871
10, Lieutenant H. de P. Rennick...
7-3.1871
i 5-3‘I87 i
Major J. T. Bushby
16-3-1871
2-10-1872
II. Mr. C. Hordern
3-10-1872
8-5-1875
Major D. W. Laughton
9.5-1875
6-8-1875
Mr. C,
Hordern
7-8-1875
11-12-1875
12. Captain K. J. L, Mackenzie
12-12-1875
2-4-1876
13.
R. Bullock
3-4-1876
4-9-1876
14. Mr. A. J. Dunlop
5-9-1876
13-11-1876
Captain R. Bullock
14-11-1876
4-1-1877
Mr. C. Hordern
5-1-1877
1 31-3-1878
15. Mr. H. S. Nicholetts
1-4-1878
15-4-1878
• Lieut.- Colonel H. C. Menzies ...
16-4-1878
12-11-1878
Major D. W. Laughton
13-11-1878
1 13-1-1879
Lieut.-Colonel H. C. Menzies ...
14-1-1879
24-3-1880
Mr. H
. S. Nicholetts
25-3-1880
18-11-1880
Major R. Bullock
19-11-1880
7-7-1883
16. Lieut.-Colonel F, W. Grant ...
8-7-1883
29-7-1883
„ R. Bullock
30-7-1883
30-4-1884
„ F. W. Grant ...
1-5-1884
31-7-1884
J, R. Bullock
i «8- i 884
1 14-4-1885
Mr. H. S, Nicholetts
15-4-1885
1.5-1885
Lieut.-Colonel R. Bullock
2-5-1885
1 16-2-1886
i
List of Deputy Commissionen who have held charge of the Anmoti
District (concld.)
Period.
Name of Deputy Commissioner.
From
To
Mr. H. S. Nicholetts
Lieut.- Colonel R. Bullock
17. Mr. A. Elliott
Colonel R. Bullock
Mr. A. Elliott
18. Captain W, Hastings
19. Colonel E. J. Qunthorpe
Mr. H. S. Nicholetts
20. Mr, H. Godwin-Austen
Mr. H'. S. Nicholetts
21. Mr. F. W. A. Prideaux
Mr. H. S. Nicholetts
22. Mr. A, Lucas,.I.C.S.
23. Captain R. P, Horsbrugh
Mr. A. Lucas, I.C.S.
Captain R. P. Horsbrugh
24. Major R, P, Colomb
Captain R. P. Horsbrugh
25. Major R. V. Garrett
26. Captain D. O. Morris
Major R. P. Colomb
Lieut.-Colonel R. V. Garrett ..
27. Mr. R. A. Simpson
28. Major F.R.M.C. de R.Mauduit.
Captain D. O, Morris
Mr. H. Godwin-Austen
Captain D. 0 . Morris
Mr. H, Godwin-Austen
29. Mr. B. Clay
Major R. P, Colomb
Mr. H. Godwin-Austen
Major R. P. Horsbrugh
30. Mr. J. T. Chamberlain, I.C.S. ...
Lieut.-Colonel F. R. M. C. de
R. Mauduit
17-2-1886
20-6-1886
15- 8-1888
5- 1-1889
9-4-1889
27-3-1890
16- 9-1890
15-3-1893
6- 5-1894
7- 8-1894
2-9-1895
I- 10-1895
2- 4-1896
30- 10-1897
3- 2-1898
22-4-1898
14- 4-1900
II- 7-1900
6- 3-1901
11-3-1901,
20-7-1901
8- 5-1902
7- 3.1903
29-5-1903
2-7-1903
25.7-1903
29-7-1904
31- 10-1904
15- 4-190S
.1-9-1905
27-11-1905
15-3*1906
31-3-1908
19-6-1886
14- 8-1888
4- 1-1889
8-4-1889
26-3-1890
15- 9-1890
14-3-1893
5- 5-1894
6- 8-1894
1.9-1895
30.9.1895
1- 4-1896
29- 10-1897
2- 2-1898
21-4-1898
13.4-1900
10-7-1900
5- 3-1901
10-3-1901
19-7-1901
7- 5-1902
6- 3-1903
. 28-5-1903
1-7-1903
24-7-1903
28-7-1904
30- 10-1904
14.4.1905
31-8-1905
26-11-1^05
14-3.1906
30-3-1908
25:11-1908
26-11-1908
Lki of Deputy Commissioners who have held charge of the
Ellichpuv Districts with the dates of their periods of office
Period.
From
To
1. Lieiit.-Colonel J. W. Stubbs
23-7-1867
23-9-1867
a . Lieutenant H . C . A. Szczepanski . . .
24-9-1867
14-8-1869
Captain H. C. Menzies
15-6-1869
14-10-1869
„ H. C. A. Szczepanski ...
15-10-1869
20-11-1870
Colonel J. W. Stubbs
21-11-1870
27-5-1870
4. Captain D. W. Laughton
28-5-1871
28-8-1871
5. „ K. J. L. Mackenzie
29-8-1871
12-4-1872
„ D, W, Laughton
13.4-1872
14-4-1872
6. „ A. Farrer
15-4-1872
8-7-1872
„ K, J. L. Mackenzie
7. Major J. T. Bushby
9-7-1872
28-3-1872
29-3-1874
4-4-1874
„ K. J. L. Mackenzie
5-4-1876
22-7-1876
8. Captain H. de P. Rennick
23-7.1879
23-10-1879
Major K. J. L. Mackenzie
24-10-1879
20-7-1889
g. Mr. H. 1^. Knowlys
21-7-1882
11-10-1882
Major K. J. L. Mackenzie
12-10-1882
7-4-1882
Mr. H. B. Knowlys
8-4.1883
7.8-1883
Lieut. -Colonel K. J. L. Mac-
kenzie
8-8-1884
11-7-1886
10. Major R. S. Thompson
12-7-1886
13-10-1886
Lieut,- Colonel K. j. L. Mac-
kenzie
14-10-1886
1-9.1887
II. Captain J. G, Morris
2-9-1887
15-11-1887
Lieut.-Colonel K, J. L. Mac-
kenzie
16-11-1887
1-6-1888
12. Mr. R. Obbard, I.C.S.
2-6-1888
8-8-1888
Captain J. C. Morris
9-8-1888
1-12-1888
13. Mr. H. S Nicholetts
2-12-1888
10-4-1890
Colonel H, de P. Rennick
11-4-1890
26-4-1891
14.* Mr. H, Godwin- Austen
27-4-1891
26-7-1891
Colonel H. de P. Rennick
27-7-1891
18-5-1892
15. Lieutenant A. G. Davidson
19-5.1892
18-7-1892
16. Captain W. Hastings
19-7-1892
14-10-1892
17. Mr, F. Wright
15-10-1892
15-11-1892
Captain W, Hastings
16-11-1892
17-7-1893
18. Khan Bahadur Saiyad Sham-
suddin Ali Khan
18-7-1893
19-10-1893
Captain W. Hastings
20-10-1893
27-1-1894
ig, Mr. C. E Biddulph
28 -i»i 894
26-12-1894
20. Captain F. R. M. C. de R.
Mauduit • ...
27-12-1894
3-1-1895
List of Deputy Commisstonevs who have held charge of the
' EUichpiiv Distvict (concluded.)
Period.
From
To
Mr. H, Godwin-Austen
4 *i-i 3 g 5
31-8-1895
Captain F. R. M. C. de R.
Mauduit
1-9-1895
16-9-1895
Mr. H. Godwin-Austen
17-9-1895
4-11-1897
21. Lieutenant D. O.Morris
5-11-1897
25-11-1897
Mr. H. Godwin-Austen
26-11-1897
2 i-^?.i 898
22. Mr. R. D. Hare
22 - 5 i-i 8 q 8
23-7-1898
23. Rao Bahadur B. K. Joshi
24-7-1898
19-11-1898
Mr. R. D. Hare
20-11-1898
6-3-1899
24. Munshi Aziz-ud-din
7-3*1899
20-3-1899
25. Captain T, W. Haig
21-3-1899
7-5.1899
„ F. R. M. C. de R.
Mauduit ...
8-5-1S99
17-12-1899
Mr. R. D. Hare
18-12-1899
20-12-1900
Captain D. O, Morris
21-12-1900
8-3-1901
26. Major R. P. Horsbrugh
9-3*1901
10-2-1902
27. Mr. R. A. Simpson
I 1-2-1902
13-11-1902
28. Major R. P. Colomb
14-11-1902
9-1 1-1903
Lieut.»Colonel W. Hastings
10-11-1903
24-6-1904
Major R. P. Colomb
25-6-1904
21-8-1905
29. Mr. Saiyid Muin-ud-din Khan...
j
22-8-1905
31-8-1905
AMRAOTI DISTRICT.
CHAPTER I.
GENERAL DESCRIPTION.
Boundaries and Physical Features.
I. The District of Amraoti stretches from 21° 46' to 20® 32
N. and from 76° 38' to 78° 27' E. and
PhysIcffpStiiri. includes the northern and north-eastern
portions of Berar. It is divided into
two widely different tracts, the first, an expanse of level plain
lying in the rich valley of the Payanghat and almost square in
outline, but for the long projection of the Morsi taluk
eastwards; the second, a stretch of mountainous country
extending along the whole north of Berar, producing little save
forest and inhabited by few but aborigines ; this is a continu-
atiow of the Satpura hills and has been known at various
times as Banda, Gangra and the Melghitt. Along the north-
western boundary for some distance runs the Tapti river and
on the eastern side the Wardha, while the Puma flows through
the midst of the District; to the north are the Nimar, Betul
and Chhindwara Districts, and to the east the Nagpur and
Wardha Districts of the Central Provinces ; to the south
and west the yeotraal, Akola and Buldana Districts of Berar.
1 Jo the Ain-i-Akba,rI.
2
AMRAOTI DISTRICT. GENERAL DESCRIPTION.
The area is 4754 square miles, of which 3123 are in the plain ;
the population according to the igoi census is 809,499
persons. The greatest length of the District from east to west
is about 120 miles and from north to south about 90 miles. Its
name is taken from that of the present headquarters’ town and
is said to be derived from the temple of Amba Devi situated
there. This derivation, however, is a very doubtful one.
There is a village on the Krishna river in the Madras Presi-
dency also called Amravati (the word is the same) which is
famous for a collection of sculptures now in the British
Museum ; and the name is said to mean in Sanskrit the
abode of immortality or the Eternal City. Amraoti is also
connected with the Hindu god Krishna to whom the river that
bears his name is sacred, and it is conjectured that the
derivation may be identical. The pronunciation Umraoli,
though very common, seems to be a corruption.
2. The Gawllgarh hills, a part of the Satpuras, so named
from the fortress situated on one of
their southern spurs, lie between 20° 10'
and 21“ 47' N. and 76“ 40' and 77° 53' E., and pass from the
BeWl District through the Melghat taluk to end at the
junction of the rivers Tapti and Puma in Nimar. In the
Melghat the crests of the range attain an average elevation
of 3400 feet, the highest point, according to the most recent
calculations, being the Bairat plateau of 3866 feet and Chikalda
and Gawllgarh being only slightly lower. The foot hills
bordering on the Tapti have a mean height of about
1650 feet. The range is composed of Deccan trap of^ the
upper Cretaceous or Lower eocene group. The only other
range is a low line of trap hills rising in the vicinity
of Amraoti and extending eastwards to some distance
beyond Chandur Railway with a general average height of
two to three hundred feet above the surrounding country, or
about fifteen hundred feet above the sea-level. Spurs from
these hills extend northwards for some distance, and the
barrenness of the land around them is in sharp contrast
with the general fertility.
KOUNDARIES AND PHYSICAL FEATURES,
3
3. With these exceptions, the District is an undulat-
The Plains plain of black alluvial soil of a very
fertile description, its richest tracts
being perhaps those in the neighbourhood of the
Wardha and Puma rivers. It is watered by a number
of small streams which escape from the Satpura hills in
the north. The soil near the hills is shallow and requires
frequent showers to prevent the crops from drying
up. Though containing no large forests, the lowlands
in some parts are well wooded. Babul bans, small areas
of a few acres or square miles covered with babul, are
found all over the District, The mango grows in profusion
and small groves are common especially near Ellichpur,
but the tree does not, as a rule, attain to any great size.
4. The Puma, the largest river of the District, takes its
rise in the southern slopes of the
Rivers, Gawilgarh hills and flows partly
through Ellichpur and partly through Amraoti taluks till it
turns westward and forms the boundary between Mur-
tizapur and Daryapur taluks, passing thence into the
Akola District. The Chandrabhaga, after watering the western
portion of the Ellichpur taluk, flows south-west past
Khallar and Daryapur to join the Puma at Dhamni Khurd
in the Daryapur taluk ; its tributary the Sirpan flows past
Ellichpur city which it formerly supplied with water through a
now ruined aqueduct. The Shahnur and the Bordi are affluents
of the Puma which water the Daryapur taluk ; and the Pedhi
runs from north to south through the entire length of the
Aipraoti taluk. Several considerable streams such as the
Chundamani, the Bel and the Matu cross the Morsi taluk for a
few miles on their way from the hills to the Wardha. The
ktter river supplies water to the villages on the borders of
the District for over 50 miles. To the north of the Melghat
lies the Tapti, which bounds the District for about 30
miles and receives, through its tributaries the Kamda, Kapra,
Sipna and Garga, a large share of the rainfall of the Gawil-
garh hills. In former times it was used by the jungle people
to provide cheap transport for their timber to Burha^npur,
4
AMRAOTI DISTRICT. GENERAL DESCRIPTION.
5. Apart from the Melghat which has already been dis-
cussed, there is little variety in the
Elevations. contours of the District. The height
above sea-level of the principal towns and stations is given
in the following table : — ■
Name of Town
Place where
height taken.
Height in
feet.
Badnera ...
Railway Stn. Platform ...
1097
AmraotiCity
Do
1118
Aniraoti Camp
D. C.’s Court house
1193
Ellichpur City
Inner Fort, opposite to
Nawab’s Palace
1297
Ellichpur Civil Station
Roof Artillei'y Mess
1268
Chikalda
A village tree
3664
Daryapur
Library plinth
928
Morsi ...
Inspection Bungalow
plinth
1151
Chandur
Railway Stn. Platform ...
1083
DhSmangaon
Do. do.
977
Chandur Bazar
Police Station plinth
1205
Anjangaon Surji ... ...
Police Station plinth
1123
Of these Nos. i — 6 are heights obtained by the Trigono-
metrical Survey; the remainder by the Public Works
Department. Of the taluks except Melghat, Morsi shows
the greatest altitude, its highest summit, Surya Barad,
an outlying spur of the Betul hills, being* 1994 feet above sea-
level, while Urwapathar stands 1716 feet. Both these are in
the Mehdari reserve. Chincholi, Kassara, Pusla and Push
are all over 1500 feet, the rest of the taluk varying from
1100 to 1400. Chandur ranges from 1500 feet at Kurha
-to 967 at Kazikhed, but the general average is from a
thousand to twelve hundred. Ellichpur taluk varies from
1069 to 1273 and Daryapur slopes gradually from about
Geology.
jioo in the north to about 900 close to the Puma. Amraoti
shows a wider range of figures, the eastern portion of
the taluk lying in the Amraoti Chandur hills being upwards of
1400 feet above the sea, while the remainder varies
between 1000 and 1300.
Geology.
Geological
Formation.
(L. L. Fermor, Imperial Geologist.)
6. Except for two small inliers of Lameta, Gondwana, and
Metamorphic rocks along the northern
boundary of this District and occasional
patches of laterite, the only geological
formations represented are Deccan Trap, and the alluvium
of the Puma valley. A large portion of the District is
occupied by plains, but there are two hilly tracts, both formed
of Deccan Trap rocks. These have already been described.
The following is a list of the formations, which will be
described in order : —
1. Cotton Soil, etc. (Recent)
2. Puma Alluvium (Pleistocene)
3. Laterite
4. Deccan Trap (Cretaceous)
5. Lametas (Cretaceous)
6. Gondwanas (exact horizon unknown)
7. Metamorphics (Archaean).
7. Concerning the cotton soil, A. B. Wynne writes.'' * The
^ ‘ cotton soil or black soil of the Puma
Cotton Soil. „ , , ,
‘ valley, although common enough,
‘ as is usual in these trappean districts, has no
‘ geological peculiarity here requiring attention. To its
‘ development, however, and the fertile nature of soils
‘ derived from the trap, may be traced doubtless the name
‘ which this country has obtained as a cotton producing
‘ district.'
^ Rec, Geol, Surv* hid, Vol,' II, part I, page 5 (,1868).
6
AMRAOTI DISTRICT. GENERAL DESCRIPTION.
8. Below the Gawilgarh range lies the Payanghat or
.... valley of the Puma river, running
Puma Alhiviiim. ,
through the Amraoti, Akola and
Buldana Districts of Berar, before entering Khandesh,
It is described by Wynne as follows ' : —
‘ The valley of the Puma possesses but little variety of
* geological interest and is principally distinguished by
‘ monotonous repetitions of features observable in crossing the
‘ Deccan from the seaward to this locality, where each hill and
‘ ghat and undulating slope or plain exhibits similar kinds of
‘ nearly horizontal flows of gray amygdaloidal trap, with here
‘ and there a bed of harder texture of columnar structure,
‘ or of bright red bole, or alternations of these ; the traps
‘ sometimes containing numerous zeolites.
‘ In the river valleys, and where superficial “ rain-wash” has
‘ accumulated, a light brown “ kankry” alluvium is associated
‘ with sub-recent calcareous conglomerate below and black
‘ cotton soil above, one being quite as occasional and acci-
‘ dental as the other, the conglomerate or concrete being
* perhaps the most persistent along the river courses, the
‘ brown alluvium or ( ? ) “ soda soil ” more universal and the
‘ cotton soil occurring, subject only to the rule that it is
‘ always uppermost.
* The alluvium of this great plain, although of very
‘ considerable depth and occupying so large an area, is as
‘ completely isolated from that of the neighbouring rivers
‘ as such a deposit can be. A section crossing the
* valley from the Ajanta ghats, by Edlabad (Khandesh)
* across the Piarna river, to the western termination of the
‘ Gawilgarh range, would show the ordinary trap of the
‘ Deccan, forming the high ground at either end, and an undu-
‘'lating country between, which viewed from above or from
‘ a distance has a plain-like aspect, but frequently exposes
‘ the rocks of which it is formed, consisting of the usual traps,
^ Rec, Geot. Survi, Ind. II, part I, page 1, (1808.) The words given in
CiEOLOCV.
7
‘ here and there co\ered only by slight dclrital accumulations
‘ of the same kind as those of the Deccan. Except on the
‘ \ery banks of Puma no considerable quantity of alluvial
‘ matter would be found, and this does not extend far from
‘ the river at either’ side. North and south through iMalkiipur
‘ (Buklrina) a different section would be obtained. Here a
‘ wide space, chiefly on the south side of the Puma, is
‘ occupied by fine brown calcareous alluvium with ‘-kankry
‘ and is connected by a narrow neck, at Piprala, with the
‘ great alluvial deposit of this valley which in thickness may
‘ exceed 150 feet; and nothing else, save varieties this, of is
‘ to be seen in or near the river from Dadulgaon (Akoltl)
‘ on its south bank eastwards up the stream nearly to tlie
‘ “ sangum ’ or junction of the Phairli river, (.'Vkola
‘ District), except two or three small exposures of trap
‘ in its bed near Piprala Pulsod (Akola). . . . The Puma
‘ changes its course from the N. N. E. at the junction
‘ of the above-named tributary, and thence takes a
‘ westerly direction : — the alluvium on its south side seldom
‘ extending beyond an average of ten miles from the river and
‘ nearly coinciding along its southern boundary with the
' Nagpur extension of the Great Indian Peninsula Railway,
‘ while oil the north it reaches nearly to the base of
‘ the mountains. On the east its rather aibitrary and
‘ indefinite boundary closely approaches the watershed
‘ of Ellichpur, and bending southward traverses undulating
* country, eventually reaching the flanks cf the hills near
‘ Aniraoti.
‘ All round the margin of this alluvial tract is a belt oi
‘ country that might or might not with propriety be included
‘ within it, although the surface deposits there do not conceal
‘ the underlying rock, the exposure of which was taken as
‘ the chief guide in determining the line of boundar5^ On
' the north and east, this tract of country is very stony, and
' it may be supposed that streams descending from the moun-
‘ tains and hills have frequently travelled across this space ;
* their courses subject to lateral deviation, covering the whole
S AMRAotl DISTRICT, GENfeRAL DESCRIPTION.
‘ of it with coarser fragment brought down by floods at a time
‘ perhaps when the water of a lake or the sea occupied the
‘ basin of the finer alluvium and arrested the boulder-
‘ bearing velocity of these mountain streams.
‘ In every part of the alluvium calcareous conglomerate or
‘ concrete is of common occurrence. It occasionally contains
‘ fragments of bone or fossil teeth of ruminants, but although
‘ sought for, no large accumulation nor even a large fragment
‘ of these fossils was observed. Yet enough was seen to
‘ show an identity of the conditions under which these de-
‘ posits and those of the Nerbudda valley were formed. This
‘ sub-recent conglomerate is very frequent in the stony tract
‘ above mentioned. It was everywhere searched for worked
‘ flints but without success, although one flake was found in
* a quite similar deposit, forming the right bank of the Goda-
‘ vari at Paithan in the Deccan, at a considerable distance
* to the south.’
* A deposit of varying thickness (within three feet) and but
‘ small lateral extent, . consisting of fine daazlingly white sand
‘ finely laminated, occurs in the alluvial bank of the Puma at
‘ Paruth. It appears to be composed of comminuted or
‘ disintegrated crystals of felspars with a small admixture of
‘ clay. It did not appear to be formed of or to contain minute
‘ organisms, such as foraminfera, and was not elsewhere ,
‘ observed.
‘Much of this Puma alluvium produces ejOflorescences of
‘ salts, of soda chiefly, and in many places the wells sunk in
‘ it are brackish or salt. Over a wide tract on each side of
‘ the Puma river, north of Akola and thence eastward to-
‘ wards Amraoti, wells are specially sunk for obtaining
‘ common salt from highly saturated brine.’ ^
‘ That the alluvium of the valley is of considerable depth
‘ may be perhaps inferred from the absence of numerous
‘ exposures of rock, as well as from the depth of nullahs and
‘ height of the river cliffs. The conglomerate, as usual,
‘.occurs in its lower portions, but was observed in some
i The industry has been prohibited.
oeologV.
9
‘ places west of Patulla at different heights in the sections
‘ exposed. Its constant or frequent occurrence beneath the
‘ rest of the alluvium would not prove its being contempor-
* aneous in all places, as the trap- rocks, upon which these
‘ deposits lie, cannot be presumed to have had a surface
‘ sufficiently even to have permitted this.
9. ‘ Whether the whole of this alluvium was deposited in
‘ a lake, or by the river travelling from
the*" Alkivktm* ' valley under other
‘ conditions than at present obtain,
‘ does not appear. A former estuarine state of thing
‘ may be indicated by the salt-bearing gravels, or a large
* salt lake, but the even though interrupted surface of
‘ the alluvium is against the probability of its having been
‘ deposited by the Puma under present conditions ; while
‘ want of information as to the relative levels obscures
‘ the possibility of determining whether the rocky country
‘ about Edldbrid may not have formed a natural
‘ flooding the country occupied by the alluvium^ ; certainly
‘ the stream through most of this is sluggish, but it
‘ seems to be a rather strong assumption, that no greater
‘ fall than the height of the river banks where it enters this
‘ rocky tract — perhaps on an average not more than 30
* feet — takes place within so great a distance as extends
‘ between this and the upper end of the alluvium, about
‘ south-west of Amraoti.’
10. With regard to the occurrence of laterite in this
District W, T. Blanford writes = ; —
Laterite.
* Two small tracts of laterite are met with, one just
^ south of Rithpur, the other about four miles north of
‘ Amraoti, The latter is the largest and best exposed, some
* good sections of it occurring in the river bank. Above, it is
^ The formation of the alluvial tracts of the Purna, Tapti, Nerbudda,
and Godavan, has been explained recently by Mr. Vredenburg as due
to the formation of slight anticlinal axes in Pleistocene times ; the
rocks being ridged up along these axes so as to impound waters with the
formation of lalte basins that were subsequently filled up by alluvial
deposits, SeeJ?ec.Gepl Surv. Ind. XXXIII, page 33) (1906),
° Mem- Geol, Stirv, Ind. VI, page 285, (1869),
io AMRAOTI DISTRICT. GENLRAI. DESCRIPTION.
‘ gravelly in texture, consisting of the usual small ferruginous
‘ grains in a red matrix ; the grains when broken showing
‘ concentric structure. Beneath, it is more compact, but
‘ soft. In one place it was seen to rest on greenish-grey
‘ mottled mudstone, breaking into small cuboidal fragments,
‘ with joint surfaces between, so minute that it is impossible
* to obtain a fair fracture. This is probably decomposed
‘ trap.’
Wynne* refers to the following lateritic occurrence
‘ The plateau upon which Chikalda stands and the
‘ surrounding summits have a strongly lateritic appearance,
‘ such as may be seen at Matheran, and other summits of the
‘ Western Ghats.’
II. The G§:wllgarh range of hills is composed, as has
^ „ already been mentioned, of rocks of
Deccan Trap. ''
the Deccan Trap formation. It is
described by Dr. Voysey in the following terms’*: —
‘ The principal part of the whole range is formed of com-
‘ pact basalt, very much resembling that of the Giant’s
‘ Causeway. It is found columnar in many places, and at
‘ Gawilgarh it appears stratified — the summits of several
‘ ravines presenting a continued stratum of many thousand
‘ yards in length,
‘ The basalt frequently and suddenly changes into a wac-
* ken, of all degrees of induration, and, of every variety of
‘ composition usually found among trap -rock.’
‘ In external appearance, the columnar and semi-columnar
‘ basalt closely resembles that of the Giant’s Causeway,
‘ possessing the same fracture, internal dark colour, and
‘ external brown crust. It is equally compact and sonorous. — '
‘ Perhaps the basalt of the Gawilgarh range, more nearly
‘ resembles, in every respect, that of the Pouce mountain in
‘ the Mauritius.’
An interesting feature of this range is the existence all
along its southern edge of a marked northerly dip (in places
* i?ec. deal. Surv. Ind., II, page 5, (1869).
® As(<tiic J^eseai'ch&s, XVIII, page 189 (1833),
GEOLOGY.
II
as high as 15'^) in the lavas of which it is composed. This is
a very uncommon occurrence in the Deccan Trap, which is
almost everywhere horizontal ; it is due to the fault that
brings up the Gondwana inliers noticed below.
With regard to the hill Deccan Trap formation south of
the Puma alluvium Wjmne ^ says : —
The hills and portion of the valley south of the Puma river
‘ have been stated to consist of trap similar to that of the
‘ Deccan. All the usual varieties of amygdaloid, zeolitic,
‘ columnar, hard, gray, and softer ashy-looking traps occur,
‘ their stratification being very perceptible and always nearly
‘ horizontal. ’
12. Along the northern boundary of the District, lying
Inliers of GondwJnas,
Lametets and there are some inliers of the Gondwana
Metamoiphics. concerning which Medlicott and
Blanford write in the first edition of the Manual of the
Geology of India, page 224, (1879), that along the southern
scarp of the Gawilgarh Hills
‘ there is, north and north-east of Ellichpur, a line of fault,
‘ running east-north-east to west-south-west, and having a
‘ considerable down- throw to the south. Along the northern or
« upthrow side of this fault, sedimentary beds appear in places,
‘ from beneath the Deccan trap, forming the whole of the
‘ surrounding country, and extend for a considerable distance
‘ (in one case for several miles) along the base of the hills.
‘ These exposures are but 30 miles south-south-east of the
‘ sandstones m the Tapti west of Betul.
‘ The most western of these inliers occurs about 8 miles
‘ north of Ellichpur, and extends east and west between 6
‘ and 7 miles. For 16 miles to the eastward no sedimentary
* rock is seen in place, but in one spot, 3 miles west of Narha,
‘ some blocks of sandstone occur, and there may be a small
‘ outcrop. At Narha, about 22 miles east by north of Ellich-
‘ pur, the sandstones reappear north of the fault, and extend
* Rte, Gf>l. Sure. Ini. Vol. II, page 3i
I'i AMRADI*! DISTRICT. CrENEllAL DfeSCRiPTlOlS?.
‘for 15 miles. They then disappear again, but two small
‘ inliers, each about a mile long, occur at short intervals just
‘ beyond.
‘ In these inliers Lameta (cretaceous) beds occur imme-
‘ diately beneath the basaltic traps, and are succeeded in
‘ descending order by about 500 feet of strata comprising
‘ felspathic sandstones, white and brown conglomeratic beds,
‘ occasional ferruginous beds, and thin layers of white and
‘ purple shale. It has not been decided whether these rocks are
‘ of Kamthi age, or whether they should be referred to the
‘ Mahadeva series, no distinguishable fossils having been
‘ found.
* No [beds of Baiakar or Talchir age have been detected,
‘ and the base of the sedimentary beds is not seen, whilst an
‘ attempt to discover coal by boring proved unsuccessful.
‘ Metamorphic rocks appear in one place along the southern
‘ edge of the sandstone, and are apparently brought up
‘ between two faults with their throws in opposite directions .
‘ As these faults coincide at each end of the strip of meta*
‘ morphics, there is evidence in this instance of two throws in
‘ opposite directions having taken place along the same line
‘ of weakness. ’
Botany.
1. Amraoti Forest Division.
(Pandumng Nardyan, E.A.C.F.)
13. Cassia Tom, locally called tarotd, is used in the
beginning of the rains as a vege-
^^^ble, but is a most harmful weed
as it comes up in great profusion,
is not eaten by cattle and does very material damage
to grazing grounds by killing the grass, Cassia ami-
ciilaia {tavwad), with large yellow flowers, is found in poor
soils along the foot of the Satpura range and on roadsides ;
the bark is known to possess tanning properties but it is not
so used in the District. Achryantlies aspera {a gar a) is a very
common erect herb, ribbed between angles and much enlarged
at the nodes, found generally in labul bans ; it has burrs which
stick to the clothes ; the leaves are used for worship by the
BOTANV.
13
Hindus, and the seed possesses medicinal properties. Mavtynia
diandra {mignah) is found in waste fields, field borders and
deserted village sites. Ocimum sanctum, basil {tulsl), is generally
grown for worship in courtyards of Hindu houses and temples
as it IS held to be sacred. Tamarix indica (jhau) forms dense
thickets in the beds of some rivers. Indigofera tinciona, wild
indigo (unhali), is generally found in patches on the waste land
near villages and roadsides. Both the species of datura, Datura
Stramonium and Datura fastuosa are found on rubbish
heaps of villages and near temples ; the leaves are used
medicinally but the seed is poisonous, producing a species
of intoxication, sometimes resulting in death.
14. Melia indica (nm), AlUzzia Lehbeh, (siris), Ailanthus
excelsa {mahdruk), Mangifera indica, the
Roadside Plants and mango (dm), Melia azadirachta (nm or
Garden Trees. \ -r, 7 . r, / 1 -
bagatn), Bassta lahfolia (mahua or
mohwd), Ficus hengalensis (bar) the banyan are commonly
planted along roadsides and camping grounds ; Seshania
aegyptiaca {saord) is grown in betel leaf gardens for supporting
the creepers and affording shade. Moringa picrygosperma (shengd
or sojnd) is cultivated in the open country ; its long drooping,
fleshy pods being used as a vegetable. Feronia clephantuin
[havit, wood apple or elephant apple) is less commonly found
along field borders. Dalbergia Sissoo is cultivated as an avenue
tree, and is an import from Northern India. The handsome
Sapindus Mulwrossi (ntlna) or soapnut tree, is sometimes
grown in gardens. The scrambling shrub of Clerodendron
phlomoides (takal), with its pleasant and sweet smelling white
flowers, is common in hedges. Euphorbia Tiriicalli (ihuar), 3.
plant with a round green stem, full of milk, makes a good hedge.
15. Almost all kinds of trees found in other plain Districts
of Berar are met with in Araraoti.
Forest and Wasteland following may be mentioned as
commonly found. The teak {Tectona
grandis) grows naturally in the north of the Morsi taluk,
but not to any large size. The babul (Acacia arahica) is the
most common and one of the most useful trees, thriving
14
AMRAOTl DISTRICT, GENERAL DESCRIPTION.
best in deep black soil with a permanent but not excessive
bed of moisture in the subsoil. Dhaora {Anogeissus latifolia)^
turns (Ougeinia dalhergioides) and dluman {Grewia tiliafoUa) are
less common and do not attain any size. Hi wav (Acacia
leucophlaa) with its dirty white bark and sweet smelling white
flowers is commonly met with on dry stony soil and waste
lands in the open country ; the bark is locally used for tanning
and the leaves and pods are greedily eaten by wild animals.
Acacia ebnvnea (mnvmat/i), Prosopis spicigeva (saondav), with pin*
nate leaves and flowers in slender spikes and pods which when
young are used for vegetables, and hingan (Balanites Roxhurghii)
are the common associates of the kuria variety of bahil on
poorer soil. Baulnnia racemosa (apia) is a common small
tree with thin stem and straggling crown, leaves of
which are distributed at Dasahra. The white and smooth
barked Tevmimlia Arjuna (kahn) fringes some of the
perennial streams. Tevminalia bekrica (baked a,) with its very
evil smelling flowers, grows sporadically, and is generally
associated with a stunted form of Tevminalia tomeniosa (sajad
or ain) with black and furrowed bark. The frankincense tree
or salai (Boswellia thuvifeva) is the characteristic tree of the
higher hill slopes in forest tracts. Ptevocavpus Mavsitpium
(bljasdl or Uja), much sought for musical instruments and also
for cart poles, is found occasionally in Morsi taluk. Dalhergia
latifoUa (shlsham), Bombay black wood, is only found on the
outer ranges of the Satpura range m the Morsi taluk ; the leaves
are used medicinally for cattle. The silk cotton tree senial
(Bombax malabavicnm) is found here and there in the open
country ; its roots are used medicinally ; the red flowers
serve as food in times of hardship, and the pods furnish silk
cotton used for stuffing cushions, &c. Turning now to smaller
trees we may mention palas (Butea frondosa)^ the roots of which
are used for making ropes, the leaves as dining plates among
Hindus, and as fodder for cattle, while the red flower yields
the dye used during the Holi festival. The wild plum
Zizypkus vulgaris (her), the stems of which are made into spindles
and thorns used for fencing; Acacia Catechu (khaiv), a bush
which exists in very poor soil ; Celasirus senegaUnsis (bhardti) ;
BOTANY,
15
Flacoiivtia RamohtcJii (gnrguti ) ; Woodfovdia flonhimda {dhewii)\
and the Mysore thorn Caesalpinia sepiaria {chilati), with its tufted
white, red and blue flowers, are commonly found throughout
the District.
16, A. ie\y oi Dendrocalamtts strictus are found
Bamboos north of Morsi taluk. Bamhisa
arundinacea {hatang bans) has been
introduced into some parts of the District.
17. Andropogon Mavtini (itkhari or rusa) yields a valu-
Grasses easily recognised by
the bright red colour of its bracts
and its characteristic lemon scent; the stems are used
for thatching ; it is found in some parts of the District
but is not common. Sorghum halepense (born) or elephant
grass grows very thick and high in rich alluvial soils
and deserted village sites ; Cynodon daciylo’i {hariali or
dub), a small perennial grass with creeping stem, rooting
at the nodes, yields an excellent fodder grass, especially
for horses ; it is the best grass for lawns. Ischaemum laxmn
{sa Jidda), is the best fodder grass when cut before seeding
at the end of the rainy season, and when fully matured (in
March) is useful for thatching. Ischaemum sulcahm (paonia) is
Everythin and soft grass much valued for fodder. Andropogon
CGutortus (hiisaJ) or spear grass is used as fodder when
young and before it has seeded and for thatching when
mature. Andropogon pachyaiihvus {gondah), is a grass which
has several varieties. It is readily eaten by cattle before the
seeds are ripe. Andropogon fqveolatns, Silkia Marvel, and Iseilema
laxnm {hatri) are also commonly used for fodder. GJiod saJidda,
gJiod knsli, lohhandi, bJiusi, kdns, &c., do not afford pasturage in
years of plenty but are eaten by cattle in years of scarcity.
II. Mel GHAT Forest Division.
18. The botany of the Melghat jungles is naturally a far
„ , , , more complicated matter and demands
Melghdt.
for its adequate treatment more
space than may fairly be allotted to it in an Amraoti
l6 AMRAOTI DISTRICT, GENERA!, DESCRIPTION,
District Gazetteer. Detailed information will be found
in. Mr. Dickenson’s Notes on the flora of the Berar Division
and in Mr. D. O. Witt’s Forest flora of the Berar circle, as
well as in Messrs. Dickenson and Bagshaw’s working plan of
the Bairagarh and Gugumal reserves and Sir Dietrich Bran*
dis’s Suggestions for the Melghat Forests. The first men-
tioned of these books gives particular attention to the Melghat
flora. As to the uses to which the forest tribes of that taluk
turn their surroundings, Mr. Bartlett writes as follows ‘ In
‘ building their huts they use poles and rafters of almost any
‘ species. The walls are of bamboo mat and the roof of teak
‘ leaves and grass held down with rough wooden poles. For
‘ ploughs they prefer tiwas {Ongeinia dalhergioides) but use most
‘ hard woods, and poles are usually of sdj {Terminalia iomeniosa)^
‘ dhaovd (Amgcissus latifolia), tcndu {Diospyros melanoxylon), or
‘ dhdman [Greivia Ulifivlia). For other implements dhaurd is
‘ mostly used. Their carts are frequently constructed of teak,
‘ but if other species are conveniently near the village, they
‘ prefer tiwas {Ougcinia dalhergioides) or hisum {Schleicheva
‘ tvijuga) for naves, dhaiird for axles and sman [Gmelina
‘ arborea) or thekid {Gartiga pimtata) for the yoke. Ropes are
‘ made from the fibres of palds roots [Butea frondosa), the
‘ malml creeper [Bauhinia VahUi)^ the bark of the harai or
‘ hndard {SteniiUa nrens), but green bamboo is generally used
‘ for all temporary purposes. As fuel they burn the wood
‘ nearest to hand. In food, however, they utilize a variety of
‘ forest produce. Of trees, the red fleshy petals of scmal
‘ {Bomhax malahaiicum) are dried, and ground with juari as
‘ flour, and the thickened roots of the young trees are eaten
‘ raw. The chief fruits are those of the tendd (Diospyros
‘ melanoxylon), char {Buchanania latifolia), sakria {Zizyphm
‘ mgosa), her {Zizyphis vulgaris), aonla [Bhyllanihus Emllica),
^jdmun {Eugenia Jamholana), sitd higathal {Emhelia Rihes) and
‘ gniav {Ficus glomerata). They are eaten raw or cooked or
i dried and ground as flour. The fruits of the siwan {Gmelina
‘ arborea), hhldwa {Semecarpus Anacardium), husuni {Schleichera
‘ trijuga) and the kernels of bahedd {Terminalia heUrica) and
ON THE TAPTI.
WILD ANIMALS AND BIRDS.
17
‘ kavai {Stefculia unns) are also crushed and eaten. The fruit
‘ and bulb shaped stem of the wild plantain [Musa supefha) are
‘ eaten raw, and the dried corolla of the mahua {Bassia latifoHa
‘ ground as flour is a staple diet. Of the wild yams gogdu
‘ (Ischaemnm rngosum) bolaVi hihi (Dioscorea daemona) and
‘ dhovhaht (Coccinia indica) are the chief. The Korku varies his
‘ food with herbs and leaves fried in oil and seasoned with salt,
* chillies, garlic and turmeric. They mostly use the leaves of
‘ the creeper hmibeh [Vitis temitfolia), the tarota {Cassia Tora)
‘and koeidri fDau/nnia purpuria), the petals of the beautiful
‘ hachnar flower (Banhinia variegata) and the young fruits of
^ the pendm (Gardenia turgida) and the chiJlTi tree (Cordia
‘ Myxa ). The chief fodder grasses of the Melghat are sahdda
‘ {Ischaemnm laxum) gondalu (Ischaemnm pachyarthms), hindlui
^ {Ischaemum pilosnm)^B.ndi imiehhali ox harali {Iseihma Wightii
‘ or Cynodon dactylon ) ; kusU the spear grass {Heteropogon
‘ contortus) and ntsa {Andvopogon Martini stapt.) are preferred for
‘ thatching. A grass called moya is used for rope making and
‘ the seed of the two grasses called saveli and bdhhajham are
‘ eaten like rice.’
Wild Animals and Birds.
19. The District is indebted to the wide difference in
character which separates the Melghat
Fauna. from the plains for its great variety of
wild animals, those of the forest and open country being
alike met with. The commonest are described below, the
vernacular names being those in use locally. In the case
of Korku where two or more names are given the first is
that supplied by Mr. H. E. Bartlett, the remainder have
been taken from various old Korku vocabularies by Forsyth,
Hislop and others, kindly lent by the Rev. A, Voss of the
Korku mission. The local Urdu and Hindi are the same.
1 . The Hanuman monkey or Bengal Langur, Semnopithecus
vcl Preshytes Entelus, Hindi langur, Marathi ndnar, Korkd
pnlamsard, or sard. This sacred monkey of the Hindus
IS met with in all parts of the District in fairly large num-
bers, and causes considerable damage to crops and fruit trees.
j8 AMRAOTI .DISTRICT. GENERAL DESCRIPTION.
On occasion, the .larger males have been known to attack
villagers when in fear of bodily hurt or when scared away
from fields or gardens.
2. The Bengal or red Monkey, Macaciis Rhesus, WinAlhandav,
Marathi meikad, Korku dugu Very common throughout the
plains and on the Chikalda plateau of the Melghat. When
caught and tamed it is a very intelligent pet, and beggars use
it locally like the organ grinder’s monkey in England
as a performirg animal.
3. The Tiger, Felis Ttgns, Hindi hdgJi, slier, Marathi weigh,
Korku hhdthula, ktila and hoda {?), is not found in the plams
except as an occasional wanderer from the neighbouring
highlands of Betul and Melghat. Cases are on record of
its being shot in the Mehdari reserve and also at Salbardi.
But in the Bairagarh and Gugumal reserves tigers are numer-
ous. Shikar however is very difficult, for owing to the preci-
pitous ravines and hill sides beating is almost impossible, while
game is so plentiful that tigers can with difficulty be induced
to take tied up baits. They are great wanderers, seldom being ■
found to haunt any particular locality for long; man-eating is
rare, no case having been recorded for several years. Both
these facts are probably to be attributed to the profusion of
game just mentioned ; water also can be found almost any-
where below the higher plateaux.
4. The Hunting Leopard, Felis Juhata, is generally known
in Hindi as chlta and in Marathi chitid, though these words
which mean spotted are frequently applied also to the Pard
and Panther. Sterndale says that the cUta catchers know it
as ytiz, calling the other kinds hibla. It differs from the
ordinary Pard in being marked with single spots, not rosettes
of black ; is longer in the body and legs and of a thinner
build'; the claws only partially retractile ; has a distinct
ruff round the neck, and Sterndale says that the name Leopard
originates from this, the animal being supposed to be a cross of
lion and pard. It seems doubtful whether it is to be found in
this District. .The passes taken out by the Nizam’s shikaris, to
trap leopards for bis Highnpss’s pack,, are valid for all Berar,
WILD ANIMALS AND BIRDS.
19
though their operations for many years have been in practice
confined to the taluks of the old Basim district. Probably,
however, a few still exist in the north of the Province. The
animal is of a very shy and inoffensive nature and his
presence might go long undetected, or he might be mistaken
for the ordinary pard.
5A . The Pard, Fe/is Parthts, Hindi cJilta high or occasion-
ally chita (the tiger being asl high ) ; Marathi Undwa ; Korkta
scinihihl sonora.
5B. The Panther, Fells Pantheva,, Hindi bhorbacheha, Marathi
blbat or bmat, Korku hmrea. It is still a more or less disputed
point whether these are separate species or merely larger and
smaller varieties of the same breed. The most striking differ-
ence is one of size, the hhmt being comparatively a small
animal ; but the tmdwTi besides being larger is of a heavier and
more powerful build, its skin is shorter-haired and the mark-
ings are larger and more distinct. Neither species shows very
much fear of man ; they will walk into villages and pick out
their prey with complete unconcern. One was killed in the
summer of 1908 almost in the Amraoti civil station, having
lifted cattle from Wadali village ; at Ghatang dogs have been
carried off from the veranda of the dak bungalow and in
Chikalda a panther has been seen asleep in the middle of the
road in broad daylight. The Korkus tell stories of the animals
coming mlo their huts and lying down by the fire. They are
but rarely man-eaters though a pard in Chaurakund in the
famine year 1898-99 took to this method of livelihood and
killed some 20 or 30 people including full grown men before
he was disposed of ; in the same year one in Katkumbh
accounted for several children. The Pardhis, a tribe of
hunters, trap both species in snares made of antelope tendons,
and beat them to death.
6. The Common Jungle Cat, Fells Chaus, Hindi jungli billi
Marathi ran manjar, Korku dongar manjar, is fairly common
chiefly in grass land and scrub forest and lives upon small
game. The true jungle cat has a fulvous coat, but owing to
20
AMRAOTI DISTRICT. GENERAL DESCRIPTION,
village cats growing wild and inter-breeding, specimens of all
colours are met with.
7. The Indian Lynx,, Felis Caracal, Marathi ]hiva or
jhm, Hindi siagosh. Very rare and very shy,
8. The Hysena, Hyaena Striata, Hindi lahra, Marathi iaras,
Korku dhopve or tarsd, a cowardly beast but an excellent
scavenger;’ has been known sometimes to carry off a dog
or goat or even a small child ; when it develops rabies, as it
occasionally does, is particularly dangerous by reason of its
enorm.ously powerful jaws.
9. The Lesser Civet Cat, Viverra vel Vivevricula Malaccensis
Hindi and Marathi locally ttdbtlao, which is strictly the name
for the otter {Vide infra), Btlli and manjav are words used
indiscriminately of all small cat-like animals.
10. The Wolf, Cflwk Hindi Wimh, Marathi
Korku lendya, found in small packs of four upwards in the plain
taluks.
11. T\ie ]?Lckd,\, Canis Aureus, Hindi siar, Marathi aolhd,
Korku hied.
12. The Red Dog, Canis vel Cuon Rutilans, Hindi jungli
hutid, Marathi ran kutrd, Korku dongar sitd and ban siid, though
not found in the plain taluks is common in the hills. The
jungle tribes are said to regard it as a useful friend, for
when a pack has pulled down a sambhar or other large game,
they beat off the dogs with sticks and appropriate the carcase.
Hence even the high reward offered will not tempt them to
kill it.
13. The Fox, Vulpes Bengalensis, Hindi loniri, Marathi
Hwkad, Korku panmanghd and kahi.
14. The Indian Sloth Bear, Ursus vel Meluvs^ls Ursimis,
Hindi Main, Marathi aswal, Korku buna, is extremely common
in the hill country and has a great reputation for stubborn
combativeness, a reputation which he yearly upholds by
causing the death of many who disturb him,
13. The Badger or Ratel, Mellivora Indica, Hindi hijjU,
Korku oie hdna, is /ound especially in the neighbourhood of
Bairatdn the Melghat.
WILD ANIMALS AND BIRDS.
21
16. The Wild Pig, Siis Scrofa vel Cnstaiiis, Hindi suar,
and among Muhammadans hum or bad imwar, Marathi and
Korku duhaf also Korku slmhadt^ chukadt or sukdi, is common
everywhere, and in old days before the troops were moved
from Ellichpur, the local hunt obtained very good pigsticking.
17. The Commonln6i3.n Hare, Lepus Rujicaudatus, Hindi
khuygosh, Marathi sasd, Korku koati,
18. The Poicupine, Hindi sei, Marathi or skaya/ii,
Korku jekrd.
19a and h. Two kinds of Mongoose, Hevpest:s Pallidm vcl
Gvisciis,an6 Hevpestes Jerdom are found, the latter in the neigh-
bourhood of Chikalda. Hindi neimla, Marathi inuugTis.
20. The Otter, Liitni Nain, Hindi pankititd, Marathi
pankutm, both meaning the water dog, Korku bud, is found on
the Sipna river.
21. Of horned game the most important is the bison, Bos vel
Gavaens Gaums, Hindi gauy, Marathi gawa, Korku goha or
gowa. This magnificent beast is gradually recovering under
protection from the effects of an epidemic disease which
nearly exterminated the herds in 1900 . It is found in the
Gugumal hills, the highlands below Bairat and sometimes
north of Raipur.
The District contains three species of deer and four of
antelope.
22. The Sambhar, Rusa Avhtotdis, Hindi and klarathi
sdmhhuy, Korku dhcik, dhcilicir. The Marathi word rohi or vui
which strictly means a female nilgai is applied indiscriminate-
ly by both Marathi and Korku speakers to the male and
female of this species as well as the chital and nilgai.
The sambhar is found in the Melghat and is also an
occasional wanderer from Betul into the Morsi trduk
reserves.
23. The Chital, Axis Maciilaius, Plindl and Marathi chital^
Korku chilli and dhakay. This spotted deer was at one
time plentiful in the District, but the Chirodi herd is now
carefully preserved. There are also a few at Mehdari.
A*.IRA0T1 DlSTKtCT. GENERAL DESCRIPTION.
24. The Jungle Sheep or Barking Deer, Cervultis Miintjac,
Hindi jnngll bakn^ Marathi hekva or baikay, Korku ghotavv
(a name applied also to the chinkava and the four-horned
antelope) hakar. The last word is obviously taken from
the animal’s peculiar bark.
25. ” The Blue Bull, Povlax Pictiis vel Boselephas Trago-
catnelns. Hindi and Marathi migai and I'ohi (see sambhar),
Korku nti. Plentiful in the Amraoti hills.
26. The Black Buck Antihpe Bezoaitica, Hindi male
?iarau, female harm, Marathi male kalwtt, female havan or
harm also Jiivn ; Korku kutsav ; is extremely common all over
the plains of the District, particularly in the ChEindur
taluk, but is unknown in the Melghat save as an occasional
wanderer from the plains. The horns are not generally
very long, though heads up to 23 1 inches have been
recently obtained.
27. The Chinkara, Gazella Bennetiii, Hindi chinkara, Marathi
kalsipi, Korku ghoian and mendha^ fairly common all over the
District. The misnomer ‘ Ravine Deer’ though not correct
as to genus is a fairly accurate description of its habits, the
rockyr slopes of nullahs and valleys in hilly country being its
especial haunt.
28. The Four-horned Antelope, Hindi chausinghd, Korku
ghoiavi, bherki, very common round Chikalda.
29. There may also be mentioned the common grey squirrel,
Smmis Palmanm, Hindi gilehri, Marathi khav, Korku iw, to
be seen in myriads, all over the District ; 30, the flying squirrel
Pteromys Oral vel petatirisia, seen in the Melghat and knoiyn by
the Korkus as Ovdv\ 31, the common flying-fox, Marathi
watawagJml, whose flesh when boiled is supposed locally to be a
good cure for rheumatism; and a variety of other small
animals too numerous to detail. To this list may perhaps be
added a herd of domestic cattle in the Chirodi reserve which
have now become completely wild.
There are numerous kinds of lizards including in the
Melghat the smaller Biscohra or Iguana, Marathi ghorpod. The
\\ILD ANIMAT b '.VD EIRDb.
legend luns that it was ubcd by soldiers m old time m the
attack on walled fortresses. Rope ladders were affixed to it'
and It was trained to ran up walls. When it arrived at the top
its grip was so firm that a man could climb the ladder after
it. Alost of the ordinary varieties of snakes are found, includ-
ing the cobra (nag), hvait and the Indian python. In the
Tapti the alligator is fairly common, but on the upper wateirs
of the Puma in this District it is not found.
The following note on fishes written forty years ago by Mr.
Nicholetts for Akola is equally true to-day of this District;
the best fish, however, arc found in the big rivers on the
borders, and in the interior fish are scarce. ‘ We have the
‘ holwe, a species of carp : the maypnl, the best-eating fish in
‘ out rivers. lie is shaped like the ball-head of England, and
‘ has the habits of the pyke, is a smooth fish of a dark colour.
‘ The com, the pnpta, the ham, a first-rate eating fish , the
‘ chihva, the sangara or dog fish. The fish fit for table are the
‘ hohoc, mairal and ham.'
‘ The first is well known in India, is of a delicate flavour,
‘ but bony. The flesh of the marval is like that of the cod
‘ fish, white, and very firm ; the bTim is more of the lamprey
‘ kind.
‘ The fishermen are very great adepts at netting. They drag
‘ with great precision ; sometimes they* meet with an active
‘ old stager but by signals they indicate his course to each
‘ other and will make a capture of a large fish that had
‘ passed four or five of them in a regular hunt, ’
In respect to nets Mr. fsicholetts enumerates : —
‘ The large stationary net, to which the fish are driven down
‘ by a number of men getting in the water and advancing
‘ towards the net.
‘ The drag net used by men, enclosing gradually any pool
‘ wliere fishes are known to stop.
^ It should be added that the cliilwu, if obtainable in suliicicnt
quantities, makes a passable imitation of whitebait.
^4 Amraoti district, general description.
‘ A peculiar kind of large shrimping net which is placed
* at the mouth of a rapid where there is little water ; the
* mouth of the net is kept open by means of a small stick
‘ three feet long which falls and lets it shut when the fish
‘ move it.
‘ The cast net, similar to the English cue.
* The shrimping net, a kind of a bag-like net, fixed to
* three sticks forming a triangle. The fishermen are
' principally Bhois.
‘ The marval is constantly shot during the heat o f the
‘ day ; they come to the surface and skim about for
‘ hours ; a tree overhanging a pool is the best place to
‘ shoot from.’
20. The birds of the District include most of the
The Birds plumaged varieties common
elsewhere, such as the golden oriole,
the blue roller (or jay), the king fisher and the little
green fiy-catchers. They also include the ‘ painted ’ and
‘ rock ’ sand grouse {Pievocles Fasciatus and P. Exustus),
the peacock {Pnvo Cnstaius), the grey partridge (OHygovnis
Ponticeriamts), the Jungle quail (Perdicula Asiaiica)^ the
large grey and rain quails ( Cotuvnix Commimis and C.
Covomandelicus)^ andi ihe button quad (Titrnix DussttmienJ.
Of water birds the hilum, kTilin or hinja, (Demoiselle crane),
known locally as havhinj or lay, is rare, but we have most of
the ordinary varieties of duck and teal, as well as a varied
assortment of cranes and other shore birds. In the Melghat,
as might be expected, are many varieties not common
in these parts of India, the following having been noted
by the well known naturalist, Lieut.-Col, McMaster, in
May 1870.
Ochrornela Nigronifa, the black and orange fly-catcher,
otherwise only found on the Nilgiris and in Ceylon.
Cyornis TichdKa, Tickell’s blue redbreast common in
Central India.
Myiophomis HovsHddii^ the Malabar whistling thrush,
found near Chikalda.
RAINFALL AND CLI^Ate.
25
Hypsipetes Caneesa, the Ghat Black Bulbul. i
Oi'iolus Ceylonensis, the southern black headed oriole.
Covvus Culininatus, the Indian corby, (the familiar social
pest of the plains is Covvus Spiendens, the grey crow).
Both varieties of green pigeon Cvocoptis Phoenicopteryx and
C. Chlovigastey, and both the grey and red jungle fowls, Callus
Sonneratii and Callus Ferrugineus.
Rainfall and Climate.
21. The District has 13 stations at which rainfall is regis-
tered. Two of these, Amraoti and
Rainfall. , , ,, , . ,
Chikalda, are under the Meteorological
Department and the remainder under the Director of
Land Records. Statistics are as follows, those for Dharni
having been taken for the 10 years ending 1906 and the
remainder for the 40 years ending 1900 : —
Station.
Rainfall.
Rain days.
Taluk Amraoti
... Amraoti Camp
32*84
46-9
Kholapur
24-63
40*9
Badnera
25-72
42-7
Taluk Chandur
... Chandur Railway ...
34-83
46-2
Talegaon Dashsa'hasra.
29-27
39-2
Taluk Morsi
... Morsi
34-76
47-2
Warud
32-19
_46-l
Taluk Ellichpur
... Ellichpur Civil Station.
30 .53 1
47 6
Ellichpur City
! 29-72
41 7
Chandur Bazar .. j
: 28-38
4i-9
Taluk Daryapur
... Daryapur ^
31-67
42-8
Anjangaon I
24-42
37-5
Tfiluk MclgliaL
... Chikalda 1
66 42 i
77 9
Dharni i
I 34-6
...
)
Thus excluding Chikalda the figures for which are typical
only of the higher plateaux, the rainfall is fairly evenly dis-
tributed over the District. The value of the rainfall depends
more on its distribution than on its extent, its, peculiarity
being that an average rainfall in the plains of about 25 inches,
26 AMRAOTI DISTRICT. GENERAL DESCRIPTION'.
if received in due season with a good break in the rains to
allow of the crop maturing, and with showers later, can
produce an ordinary good crop; while a rainfall of 34*36
inches (the average of the last 40 years) may be and some-
times is followed by a year of scarcity. -This was the case in
1896-97 when the District average was 36*56, while in the
preceding year good crops were harvested though only 26*33
inches had been received. In 1880-81 and 1886-87 the
registered fall was 24*22 inches *, yet in both these years the
crop was a fairly good one, that in the old Ellichpur District
in the former year being described as excellent. In 1887-88
there was a record downpour of no less than 60*87 inches
which was distributed as follows 0*74 in April and May ;
8*85 in June ; 20*55 in July; 7*57 in August ; 7*23 in Septem-
ber ; 9*33 in October ; and 6*60 in the succeeding months
from November to March. Of the 36 years ending 1906-07
one only showed a rainfall of less than 20 inches, the 13*2
received in 1899-1900 being followed by a severe famine.
In eight years the amount registered was between 20 and 30
inches, and in sixteen between 30 and 40 ; in seven a total
of from 40 to 50 inches was recorded, while in four only was
the latter figure exceeded.
22. In climate as in almost every other particular, the
Climate Melghat is entirely different from the
rest of the District. In the plains,
though there is no cold weather like that of Northern'
India, yet the conditions are for the greater pari of the
year very healthy. Even the scorching heat which prevails
in the day time from about the middle of March to
the middle of June is to some extent mitigated by the
extreme dryness of the air and the coolness of the nights,
so that to many constitutions, even European, this is the
healthiest of the seasons. In the. Melghat, the sanitarium
of Chikalda, situated on a lofty plateau open to every
wind, is for nine months in the year a delightful health
resort. One can be out of doors there at midday in early
June without serious discomfoft, but When once the. fains
fcAINFALL AND CLIMA^IE,
27
have set m, the continual mists make the place somewhat
depressing. In the valleys of the Melghat again a different
climate prevails, which is regarded with unmixed dislike by
both Europeans and natives. It is certainly very malarious
so that the camping is considered risky before January, and
officials long stationed there generally fall sick. In the
summer, though the open country is a trifle cooler than the
plains, the more secluded valleys are suffocatingly hot. The
evil reputation which this tract has acquired, however, is
sometimes said to be only partly deserved, much being
attributable not to the climate but to the depressing influence
of the surroundings which are neither true forest, nor fully
cultivated land.
* There are two meteorological observatories in the
Amraoti District, one at Amraoti in the plains and the other at
the hill station of Chikalda, The elevation above sea-level of
the barometer at the first is 1215 feet and at the second 3642
feet. The first was founded in 1873 and the second in 1876,
and thus a series of more than 30 years’ observations are on
record. The year may be divided into the cold season, the
hot weather, and the rainy season, the first lasting from Nov-
ember to February and the second from March to about the
2nd week in June, when the rains usually set in and continue
till about the middle of October, During the cold weather
there is but little cloud and only occasional light falls of rain.
In October winds, which during the greater part of the year
blow from westerly directions, change to north at Chikalda
and to east at Amraoti. There is however comparatively
little air movement during the winter at either station.
Temperature frequently falls below 50° at night but there is
seldom any frost. The lowest temperature on record is 40*9°
at Chikalda and 40*6® at Amraoti, both occurring in the
month of February. In March temperature begins to rise
rapidly and the hot weather sets in. The hottest time of the
year is May and the early part of June, when the maximum
* The remainder of this Note has been supplied by the Jandncss of
Mr. John Patterson of the Government of India Meteorological
Department.
28
AMi^AOTi DISTRICT. GENERAL bESCRIPTION.
thermometer at Amraoti frequently records a temperature of
no'’, the mean maximum for the whole of May being 107.7 ;
Chikalda temperatures are usually from 13” to 14° below
those registered at Amraoti. The highest temperatures on
record are ii5’5 at Amraoti and 103° at Chikalda. Humidity
is very low at this season, averaging only about 26 or 27
per cent, of saturation in April, which is the driest month
of the year. As the baric gradients steepen in May
owing to the high temperature prevailing in Northern
India, winds increase in strength, and from May to Septem-
ber the air movement is at its maximum, the wind velocity at
Chikalda during this period averaging 10 miles an hour. The
velocity is not so great at Amraoti. The rainfall of the hot
weather is small and is chiefly connected with thunder storms
which are frequently accompanied by hail and cause large and
sudden falls of temperature. The normal date for the setting
in of the rainy season in the District of Amraoti is the loth
June, and from this date on to about the 15th October more
than 90 per cent, of the whole year’s rainfall is received
Humidity is of course very high at this season of the year and
in August averages 95 per cent, of saturation at Chikalda and
82 per cent at Amraoti. Temperature is very uniform during
the rains at Chikalda and the daily range of temperature
averages only 8*3° in July and 77° in August ; at Amraoti for
the same months it is I3'8'’ and 13*5° respectively. In October
winds fall off in strength, rainfall decreases rapidly and after
a period of hot steamy weather the cold season gradually sets
in. A statement is annexed giving temperature and wind data
for five months in igo6, 1907 and 1908. It will be noticed
that the wind velocity at Amraoti in May and June in these
years was higher than that at Chikalda, which is unusual.
Statement showing the Mean Maximum, Minitnwn Temperatures and Wind Velocity recorded at the Amraoti
and Chikaldd Ohservatories during January, April, May, June, November, and December, 1906, 1907, and 1908.
RAINFALL AND CLIMATE.
29
CHAPTER II.
Legendary period.
HISTORY AND ARCHAEOLOGY.
( Major W, Haig. )
History.
The history of the Amraoti District, which contains both
the ancient and the modern capitals of Berar, as well as its
most famous fortress, is to a great extent that of the Province
itself.
23. Berar is first mentioned, under the name of Vidarbha,
in the Mahabharata, one of the two great
epics of the Hindus. This poem is in no
sense history and, as Mr. Vincent Smith says,* while of value
as a traditional picture of social life in the heroic age does
not seem to contain matter illustrating the political relations of
states during the historical period. Nevertheless the period
covered by the events which form the basis of the poem's
story has been conjecturally placed between 1500 and
1000 B.C.
24. In the Mahabharata Vidarbha is described as a largh
kingdom lying to the south of Nishadh
or southern Malwa, and governed, during
the time when the Pandavas were preparing to expel the
Kauravas from Hastinapur, by a proud and boastful raja
named Rukmin. The kingdom took its name from its capital,
which is identified, both by legend and etymology, with Bldar
in the Nizam’s dominions, the capital of the later BahmanI
kings of the Deccan. If credit may be given to this legend
the ancient kingdom of Vidarbha must have been far more
extensive than the modern Province of Berar.
Rukmin marched with a large army to the aid of the
Pandavas and was hospitably received and royally entertained
by Yudhishthira, the eldest of the five princes. At the
banquet Rukmin indulged to excess in liquor, and after
boasting of his prowess demanded a share of the kingdom of
The Mahabharata.
* Bcrrly History of India, page 8,
HISTORY,
31
Hastinapur as the price of his assistance. His arrogance
excited the wrath of Arjun, who told him that although he and
his brothers were grateful for the proffered aid they could
not tolerate his boasting or accept his conditions, and that he
might go or stay,, as he pleased. Rukmin then transferred
his offer of assistance to the Kauravas and was at first well
received by Duryodhan, but contrived to irritate his new
friends by his overbearing manners and at length arose in
great wrath and returned to his own country,
Rukmin had a beautiful sister named Rukmini, who was
sought in marriage by the demi-god Krishna but was already
betrothed to Sisupal, the raja of Chedi. Rukmin refused
to allow her to break her troth but Krishna carried her off by
force and married her, the wedding ceremonies being per-
formed, according to local legend, at, the temple of Amba
Bhawani at Amraoti. Rukmin, thus thwarted, retired to
Bhatkull, nine miles west of Amraoti, Avhere he passed the
rest of his life as a recluse.
Vidarbha was also the scene of the love-story of Nal and
Damayanti. Nal, the raja of Nishadh, and Damayanti, the
beautiful daughter of Bhim, raja of Vidarbha, fell in love,
each with the other’s description. BhIm proclaimed a
swayamvav at which Damayanti chose Nal from a large
number of rajas to be her husband. The marriage was
celebrated and Nal carried Damayanti away to Nishadh.
The troubles of their married life and their -long separation
in consequence of Nal’s losses at play are related both in the ,
Mahabharata and ' in a long Persian poem by Akbar’s poet
laureate FaizI, the brother of Abu-1-Fazl, but are not
connected with the story of Berar.
25. A purely legendary episode is connected with Ellichpur.
. This is the fable of the jihad or Holy War
Abdur Rahman - , , a , , t-. ■. , .
tbeGhazi. . Shah Abdur Rahman the Ghazi,*
sister’s son to Mahmud of Ghazni, which is
said to have taken place in the reign of the eponymous raja
II of Ellichpur. The legend of raja 11 is that he was a Jain
by religion and came from the village now known as Khanza-
man nagar near Wad^aon., He founded -Ellichpur, according
32 AMRAOTI DISTRICT. HISTORY AND ARCHEOLOGY
to local pandits, in the year Samvat 1115, corresponding with
A.D. 1058. A wandering Muhammadan fakir is said to have
visited his court, and so to have annoyed the raja by his
2eal for Islam as to cause the latter to have his hand cut off.
The fakir left India and laid his case before Abdur Rahman,
whose nuptials were then being celebrated at Ghazni. The
youthful bridegroom in his religious zeal stopped the wedding
festivities at once and, assembling an army of several thou-
sand warriors, set out for Berar accompanied by his mother
the Bibl Malika-i-Jahan. The Muhammadan legend says
that Northern India was then ruled by a raja named Vaked
who had quarrelled with II and gladly assisted the invader,
II heard of the approach of Abdur Rahman and sent an army
to meet him. The two armies met near Kherla in the BeWl
District and the Musalmans were at first hard pressed until
Abdur Rahman was inspired by a voice from heaven to cut
off his own head. This he did, and then led his whole army
against the Hindus, who were routed and pursued as far ag
Ellichpur. Here the invaders were met by II himself who,
after an obstinately contested battle, was defeated and took
refuge in the city. He was brought bound to Abdur Rahman
who urged him to accept Islam, which the raja refused to do.
When asked what he would have done had he been victorious
he replied that he would have flayed Abdur Rahman, stuffed
his skin with straw, and burnt it. Abdur Rahman im-
mediately ordered the raja to be so treated and ‘ sent him to be
one of the chiefs of hell.’ A chronogram pretends to give the
date of this event as A.H, 392 (A.D. 1001-02) which does
not correspond with the date of the foundation of Ellichpur
according to the Hindu legend.
26. This fable, absurd though it is, is one of a very well-
... , , known class. The parentage of the
Pachpiriya legends, . . , , ^ ,
hero, the incident of the headless
horseman, and the fact that the followers of Abdur Rahman
who captured Raja II are locally known as the Panch P\r
or Pachpir, connect the story with the well-known Pachpiriya
legends of the Bahraich District in the United Provinces. When
and by whom this particular fable was invented it is impossible
HISTORV.
33
to say, but it is probably later than the period of Bahmani rule,
to which may be assigned the shrine in Ellichpur known as
that of Abdur Rahman. The shrine is probably a tomb
erected to the memory of Shujat Khan, Dilawar Khan,
Rustam Khan and Bahadur Khan, generals of Firoz Shah
Bahmani who were slain in a battle at Kherla in 140c. This
identification will account for the association of this shrine
with one at Kherla where, according to the legend, the head
of the Ghazi is buried. The Hindu generals mentioned in the
legend are eponymous heroes whose names are connected with
the names of places in the Amraoti District. Thus we have
Bairat, connected with Bairat, and possibly also with Baira-
garh in the Melghat and Ridh, associated wdth Ritpur or Ridh-
pur, now the headquarters of the Mahanubhava sect. *
27. The early history of the District, apart from such
j , legends as these, is vague and fragmen-
Hmdu period. ° ° ,
tary. Berar formed part of the empire
of Asoka Maurya who reigned from 272 to 231 B.C., but it is
not certain whether it was governed directly by his officers or
whether it formed a protected state under chiefs of the
Pulinda tribe. Pushyamitra Sunga, commander of the forces
of Brihadratha, the last Maurya emperor, having, in 184 A.D.,
slain his master, founded the Sunga dynasty and towards the
end of his reign his heir-apparent, Agnimitra, made war on
and defeated the Raja of Vidarblia, but neither the short-
lived Sunga dynasty nor the northern dynasties which
succeeded it ever attempted to reconquer Berar, which was
shortly afterwards included in the empire established by the
Andhra dynasty of Telingana which originally had its capital
at Shri Kakulam on the lower course of the Krishna. It is
probable that the Province was included among the conquests
ofthe Sakas, Pallavas, and Yavanas in A.D. 100 and was freed
from their domination in A.D, 126 by the twenty-third Andhra
king, Vilivayakara II. This king was succeeded in 138 by his
son Pulumayi II, while the Saka satrap Rudradaman assumed
the government of the western provinces, among which Berar
I For a full version of the legend of Shah Abdur Rahman see Journal
ofthe Asiatic Society of Bengal, Vol, XXh, Part III,
3
34 AMRAOTI DISTRICT. HISTORY AKD ARCHAEOLOGY.
should probably be included. Rudradaman’s daughter Daksha-
mitra was married to Pulumayi, but the satrap was deterred
by no scruples from attacking his son-in-law and reconquering
the territory which Vihvayakara II had conquered from the
Sakas, Pallavas, and Yavanas, for he moved his capital from
Kolhapur to Paithan^ on the upper Godavari, a step which
indicates that he had business in the north-western corner of
his kingdom which demanded his attention.
The Rashtrakufcas
and Vakatakas.
28. The Andhra dynasty came to an end about 236 and
from that time to 550 the history of
the Deccan is a blank, though, as Mr.
Vincent Smith remarks, there is reason
to believe that the western territory or Maharashtra, in which
Berar should probably be included, ‘ was governed by princes
of the Rashtrakuta or Ratta clan’ ; which, long afterwards, in
the middle of the eighth century, became for a time the lead-
ing power in the Deccan. We have, however, some trace
of a dynasty, that of the Vakatakas, which appears from its
grants to have ruled an extensive tract of country, including
the whole of Berar. Very little is known of this dynasty,
the capital of which was perhaps at Bhandak near Chanda
in the Central Provinces. A short inscription in cave XVI at
Ajanta gives the names of seven members of the family, and
from other sources we learn that ten rajas the names of all of
whom, save two, have been handed down, ascended the throne.
It is by means of Pravarasena II, the fifth raja, that we are
able to connect the dynasty with the Amraoti District, for a
copper-plate grant of the eighteenth regnal year of this prince
relating to ‘ Charmanka in the Bhojakata kingdom,’ z>.,
Chammak in the District, has been discovered. The Bhojakata
kingdom was perhaps a feudatory state.
29. The Chalukya dynasty was founded about 550 by
The chalukyas. Palikesin I, who had his capital at
Vatapi, the modern ? Badami in the
Bijapur District, and his immediate successors extended the
limits of their kingdom so as to include not only Berar but
* The PUihema of Ptolemy.
HISTORY.
35
also many states to the north. In the reign of Pulikesin
IF, the sixth of the line, the capital was at Nasik. In the
middle of the eighth century Dantidurga, a member of the
ancient Rashtrakuta family, overthrew Kirttivarman 11 ,
Chalukya, extinguished the main branch of the western
Chalukyas, and seized the sovereignty of the Deccan, which
was held by his successors for two centuries and
a quarter. In 973 Kakka II, the last of the Rashtrakuta
kings, was overthrown by Taila II, a descendant of the
Chalukjan stock who had his capital at Kaliyani, now a town
in the Bldar District of the Hyderabad State. Taila II was
not able at once to establish his authority in the northern
provinces of the kingdom which had been ruled by the
Rashtrakutas, and during his earlier wars with Vakpati II,
Munja, the Paramara raja of Malwa, the Godavari formed
the boundary between the kingdoms of Malwa and the Deccan,
and Berar belonged to the former kingdom ; but about 995
Taila defeated and captured the raja of Malwa and Berar
was brought once more under the sway of the Chalukyas.
In the latter half of the twelfth century the power of the
Chalukyas was broken by rebellions and towards the end
of the century the greater part of their dominions was seized
by the Yadavas of Deogiri on the north and the Hoysalas of
Dvarasamudra on the south. Berar seems from BaranI’s
and Firishta’s accounts of Ala-ud-dln KhiljI’s raid into the
Deccan, to have been the northern province of the Deogiri
kingdom, and it appears that Ellichpur, which BaranI calls'
‘one of the famous cities of the Deccan,’ was even then
the provincial capital.
30. The founder of the Yadava dynasty was Bhillama, a
The Yadavas of feudatory noble of the Chalukya kingdom
Deogiri. who was killed in battle by the Hoysala
Tribhuvanamalla Vira Ballala II in 1191. Singhana, the,
third prince of the line, who reigned from 1210 to 1247,,
established a kingdom which, during his reign and that of his
grandson Krishna, rivalled in extent the realms of the
Chalukyas and Rashtrakutas. The brother and successor
of Krishna, Mahadeva Ugrasarvabhauma, who reigned from-
36 AMRAOTI DISTRICT. HISTORY AND ARCHEOLOGY.
1260 to 1271, had a Brahman councillor, Hemadri, the Hemad
Pant to whom are attributed the old Hindu temples of Berar
built in the Chalukyan, locally known as the Hemadpanihi,
style. Hemadri had a protege, Bopadeva, the son of Keshava,
one of the few literary characters whom Berar has produced.
He was the author of the HariUB, the SatashhU, and the
Mtiktaphalttf a work on Vaishnava doctrines. The gram-
matical treatise Miigdliahodha is also attributed to him.
Mahadeva was succeeded by his nephew Ramchandra, styled
Ramdeo by Muhammadan historians, the last independent
raja of Deogiri.
31. In 1294 Ala-ud-din, governor of the province of
„ , , . . which Kara on the Ganges, 42 miles
Muhammadan period. ,
Invasion of the Deccan, north-west of Allahabad, was the capital,
and' nephew and son-in-law of Jalal
ud-din Firoz Shah Khiljl, the reigning emperor of Delhi,
having assembled an army ostensibly for the purpose of
punishing a refractory Hindu chief on the borders of
his province, suddenly invaded the Deccan without the
knowledge or consent of his uncle. His objective was
Deogiri, of the wealth of which kingdom he had heard in the
course of his forays m Central India. He marched from
Kara to Chanderl, and thence across the Satpuras to Ellich-
pur, where he halted for two days, explaining his presence by
saying that he was one Malik Ala-ud-dIn who had been one
of the nobles of the emperor of Delhi, but was now leaving
his master with the intention of taking service with the raja
of Rajamahendri in Telingana.' His story served its purpose
and he was not molested at Ellichpur, which he left suddenly
at midnight, advancing by forced marches towards Deogiri.
It is unnecessary to recount the details of his successful raid.
Ala-ud-dIn not only carried off from Deogiri an enormous
quantity of plunder, but was strong enough to insist on the
assignment of the revenues of Ellichpur and the districts
attached thereto, which probably included the whole of the
Amraoti District and the rest of northern Berar. Annexation
was not attempted, nor were Muhammadans introduced into
the administration. Treasure was ail that Ala-ud-dlij required
HISTORY. 3y
for his immediate needs, and this the adventurer obtained
in plent5^
32. Ala-ud-din on his return murdered his uncle and ascend-
.... ed the throne of Delhi early in 1296.
Ala-ud-din ascends the ^ . j ^
throne. During his reign Berar was traversed
by Muhammadan armies from Delhi
marching on expeditions to the Deccan, but we find no special
mention of the Province. In 1302 or 1306, according to one
account, an expedition under the African Kafur Hazardinari
was sent against Deogiri in consequence of Ramchandra
having failed to remit tribute and having allied himself with
Rai Karan of Gujarat, who had refused to send his daughter
Deval Devi to Delhi. Ramchandra and his family tvere
captured and sent to Delhi, but the emperor pardoned him and
restored him to his throne, and it does not appear that the
arrangement .under which Elhchpur and northern BerSr
remained under Hindu administrators charged with the remis-
sion of the revenue to Delhi was disturbed.
Ramchandra died in 1309 and was succeeded by his eldest
son Shankar, who rebelled against Delhi and refused to remit
the tribute. In 1312 Kafur, now entitled Malik Naib, led an
expedition to Deogiri, defeated and slew Shankar, and annexed
his kingdom, including Berar, to the empire. The Amraoti
District thus came for the first time directly under Muham-
madan administration.
33. Ala-ud-din Khiljl died at the end of 1316, and in the
confusion which followed his death and
Rebellion m Deogiii, subsequent assassination of Malik
Naib, Harpal, the son-in-law of Ramchandra, seized Deogiri
and ruled it for a short time as an independent king, bringing
Berar once again under Hindu; rule, but by 1318 affairs at
Delhi had been settled and Kutb-ud-din Mubarak Shah, who
was then on the throne, marched southwards, attacked Harpal,
captured him and caused him to be flayed, and placed his head
above one of the gates of Deogiri. Amraoti thus passed again,
with the rest of Berar, into the hands of the Musalmans, and
the province remained nominally under Muhammadan rule and
38 AMrAOTI district. HISTORV and ARCH/E0L0G\’.
administration until it was assigned under the treaty of 1S53
to the East India Company.
Malik Yaklaki was appointed governor of the reconquered
provinces and shortly afterwards rebelled. We are not told
what part the officers in Berar took in the rebellion, which was
suppressed.
34. Kutb-ud din Mubarak Shah was assassinated in 1321
Tughlak Shah.
throne was defeated and slain before the
end of that year by Ghazi Beg Tughlak, the TurkI governor of
the Punjab, who was raised to the imperial throne under the
title of Ghiyas-ud-din Tughlak Shah. The expeditions to the
Deccan in his reign are not directly connected with the history
of Berar, but the resources of the province were doubtless taxed
in the effort to furnish supplies for the armies from Delhi.
Tughlak died m 1325 and was succeeded by his son, Muham-
mad bin Tughlak, who in 1339 transferred the capital of the
empire from Delhi to Deogiri, which he renamed Daulatabad.
It is likely that the importance of Berar, which now adjoined
the District in which the capital of the empire was situated,
was temporarily enhanced by this change, but Daulatabad did
not long remain the capital.
35. Maharashtra was now divided into four ^hikks or
„ , . „ . provinces, and though the limits of
Organization of the , ° . , , ,
provinces of the Dec- these are not mentioned, it is probable
that they corresponded roughly with
the four tarajs or provinces into which the Bahmani kingdom
was afterwards divided, and that Berar, with its capital at
Ellichpur, formed one of them. The land revenue of the whole
tract was assessed at seven crores of ‘ white tankas ’of 175
grains each, or about ^3,500,000. This assessement seems to
have been excessive, for we read that the action of the
sMkkdai's or provincial governors in collecting it caused wide-
spread discontent and a partial depopulation of the country,
The sMkkddrs were Malik Sardawatdar, Malik Mukhhs-ul-
Mulk Yhsuf Bughra, and Aziz Himar or Khammar, but the
names of their provinces are not given. All were subordinate
to Kutlugh Khan, Governor of Daulatabad, whose deputy was
HISTORV.
39
Imad-ul-Mulk, but Kutlugh Khan was recalled very soon after
his settlement had been made, and it was then that the oppres-
sion of the shikkdars became unbearable. Immediately subor-
dinate to these shikhddvs was a class of officials styled cen-
turions, military officers who also performed such civil duties
as the collection of the revenue, the prevention and detection
of crime, and the maintenance of order.
36. In 1347 Muhammad bin Tughlak marched to Gujarat to
quell a rebellion which had broken out
of the Deccan. among the centurions of that Province
and, having quieted Gujarat, summoned
the centurions of the Deccan, intending to replace those of
Gujarat with them but the officers of the Deccan whose loyalty
was not above suspicion feared that they were being called to
punishment, and when they had travelled one day’s march
towards Bahroch, where they had been ordered to assemble,
they slew the officers who had been sent to summon them and
returned to Daulatabad. Here they rose in rebellion and
elected Ismail Fateh the Afghan, king of the Deccan, with the
title of Nasir-ud-din* Shah. This news at once brought
Muhammnd bin Tughlak from Bahroch to Daulatabad. He
defeated the rebels in the field, but the new king took refuge
in the fort and Muhammad was unable to capture the place
and news soon arrived that rebellion had broken out afresh in
Gujarat, which compelled him to return thither, leaving an army
to besiege Daulatabad. This army was defeated and the
amirs of the Deccan, on Nasir-ud-din abdicating, elected as
their king, Hasan, styled Zafar Khan, who ascended the throne
as Ala-ud-din Bahman Shah° in 1347.
37. Bahman Shah, the founder of the Bahmani dynasty of
the Deccan, which reigned in fact until
1482 and in name until 1526) divided his
kingdom into four tarafs or provinces, each under the govern-
orship of a iavafddr or provincial governor. The provinces
^ So styled by Firishta, Badaoni and the author of the Burhan-i
Madsir call him NasIr-ud-dIn,
2, This was his correct title, as a contemporary inscription and legend
on coins show. The fantastic epithets bestowed on him by various
historians are connected with foolish stories.
The Bahmanis.
46 AMRAOTI DISTRICT, HISTORY AND ARCHEOLOGY.
were Berar, Daulatabad, Bidar, and Gulbarga. We have,
unfortunately, very little information as to the details of pro-
vincial administration, but it is known that the powers of the
tarafdavs were very extensive. The tarafddr s oi Berar, whose
headquarters were at Ellichpur, governed a tract of country
far larger than the modern province. Its southern boundary
was the Godavari and its western boundary extended beyond
Baitalwadi. In this large province the governor was almost
independent. He commanded the provincial army, collected
the revenues, and made all appointments, both civil and
military, including appointments to the command of forts,
which were among the most important of all. His duties to
the central authority seem to have been confined to the regular
remission of a proportion of the revenue and to attending on
his sovereign with the army of the province, whenever he
might be called upon to do so. We know little or nothing of
the administrative divisions of Berar in these early days, but
it was probably divided into two principal divisions, one on
the north, with its capital at Ellichpur and one on the south
with its capital at Mahur. The existing parganas date,
almost certainly, from the period of Hindu rule, and the savddvs
described in the Ain-i-Akbari were perhaps a legacy from the
days of the Bahmanids.
Muhammad Shah Bahmani, who succeeded his father in
1358, elaborated the organization of the four tavafs and gave
to each iarafddr a distinctive title, the governor of Berar being
styled Majlis-i- All.
38. The first governor of Berar under the Bahmanids was
a Persian, Safdar Khan Sistani, In
Safdar Khan, governor
of Berar. 1362 he commanded the army of the
province in Muhammad Shah’s expedi-
tion into Telingg,na and was absent from Berar on this occasion
for two years. In 1366, while Muhammad Shah v/as waging
war against Vijayanagar, Bahram Khan Mazandarani, deputy
governor of Daulatabad, broke into rebellion at the instigation
of Kondba Deo, a Maratha, and several of the nobles of Berar,
who were related to Bahram Khan, were involved in the
rebellion with him. The rebellion was suppressed and itS'
HISTORY.
leaders made good their escape into Gujarat. At this time
highway robbery seems to have been rife in the Deccan, for
Muhammad Shah found it necessary to issue special orders to
the iavnfdars for the suppression of the crime. The remedy
was drastic. The malefactors were beheaded and their heads
were sent to the capital. Twenty thousand heads were thus
collected at Gulbarga, and we may presume that Safdar Khan
sent his share.
The provinces were not neglected in the reign of Muham-
mad I, who toured in one of them every year unless occupied
in war, and hunted for three or four months. This
information may appear trifling, but it enables us to
understand to some extent how Berar was governed in former
days and how it was that a kingdom organized as was
that of the Bahmanids did not fall to pieces sooner than
it did.
39. Muhammad I died in 1375 and was succeeded by his
son, Mujahid Shah, who made war against
Mujahid Shah. ? j ....
Bukka I of Vijayanagar. Safdar Khan
was summoned to the capital with the army of Berar and
was sent to besiege Adoni. The Hindus were vanquished
before this fortress fell and the siege was relinquished.
Mujahid Shah returned slowly through the Raichur Doab,
hunting as he went, and Safdar Khan and the governor of
Bldar, knowing his rash and impetuous disposition, exerted
themselves to restrain him from running needless risks in
his sport. The king wearied of their good advice and, much
against their will, ordered them to return to their provinces.
The two governors pursued their way slowly and unwillingly,
and shortly after their departure Mujahid was assassinated,
on April 17th, 1387, at the instigation of his uncle, DSud,
whom he had offended during the campaign against the
Hindus. Daud hastened to Gulbarga m order to ascend the
throne, but Safdar Khan and the governor of Bldar refused to
attend him there and turned aside to Bijapur, where the royal
elephants were. They seized these, divided them between
them, and returned to their provinces with them, Daud Shah
42 AMRAOtl DISTRICT, HISTORY AND ARCH/EOLOGY.
was assassinated on May 2ist, 1378. and was succeeded by
his nephew, Muhammad" Shah II.
On the accession of Muhammad II, Safdar Khan and the
governor of Bidar made their submission and hastened to the
capital to offer him their congratulations. Early in this
reign there was a severe famine in Berar and the Deccan.
A school for famine orphans was established at Ellichpur,
where the children were brought up m the Muhammadan
faith, and special allowances were given in all towns to
religious teachers and to the blind.
40. Muhammad II died on April 22nd, 1397, and was
SalabatKhan, gover succeeded by his elder son, Ghiyas-ud-dln,
nor of Berar. War -who was 17 years of acre. In his reign
with Kherla. ^ ^ .
Safdar Khan Sistani, the governor of
Berar, died in Ellichpur. His son, Salabat Khan, who had been
a playfellow of the young king, was appointed governor of
Berar in his father’s place, with the title of Majlis-i-AU.
On June i6th, 1397, Ghiyas-ud-din was blinded and deposed,
and his brother Shams-ud-din was placed on the throne. He,
however, was deposed and imprisoned at the end of the year
and was succeeded by his cousin, Taj-ud-din Firoz Shah.
The army of Berar, under Salabat Khan, took part in Firoz
Sfaih’s campaign against Harihara II of Vijayanagar in
1398-99. The campaign was eminently successful and Firoz
Shah on his return left Pulad Khan, another son of Safdar
Khan Sistani, in charge of the Raichur Doab. But on this
occasion the absence of the governor from Berar produced
disastrous results, for Narsingh Deo, the Gond RajS of Kherla,
had overrun the province from north to south and occupied
it. Firoz Shah hastened northwards and, after recapturing
Mahur, pressed on towards Kherla by way of Ellichpur. Here he
halted and sent on an army under the command of his brother
Ahmad Khan, the Khan-i-Khanan, to punish the Gonds. Ahmad
advanced to within a short distance of Kherla and was met by
' Most English writers, in deference to Firishta, who is obstinately
mistaken as to this king’s name, style him Mahmud, in spite of the
evidence of coins, inscriptions, and other historians. Mahmud was his
father’s name.— Vide Jottrnal of the Asiatie Society of Bengal,
Vol. LXXIII, Part I.
HISIORY,
4B
the Gond troops under Narsingh Deo. The Gonds fought with
great determination and broke the centre of the Musalmans,
slaying Shujat Khan, Rustam Khan, and Diiawar Khan.
The right under the command of Ahmad Khan, and the
left under the command of Mir Fazl-ullah Anju Shirazi
still stood fast. Fazl-ullah was told that Ahmad Khan
had fallen, but wisely forbade his informant to circulate the
rumour, which turned out to be false. He then caused it to
be proclaimed that Firoz Shah had come in person to the
relief of his troops and caused the great drums to be
beaten. The scattered forces of the Muslims rallied to the
sound and Mir Fazl-ullah and Ahmad Khan managed to join
forces and to attack the enemy. Gopal Rai, the son of
Narsingh Deo, was taken prisoner, and the Gonds were
pursued with great slaughter to the gates of Kherla, whither
Narsingh Deo arrived only just in time to save his life.
Ahmad Khan and Fazl-ullah then besieged the fortress and
after the lapse of two months the Gonds offered to surrender
on conditions. The Muhammadan generals replied that
they had no power to offer terms, and that if Narsingh Deo
desired to obtain them it was necessary that he and his chief
nobles should make their submission to Firoz Shah in
Ellichpur, to which place they were offered a safe conduct,
This advice was followed, and the raja swore at the foot-
stool of Firoz in Ellichpur that he and his successors
would be faithful liegemen of the Bahmanids as their pre-
decessor had been in the days of Tlahman Shah. Narsingh Deo
WTis dismissed with honour after paying tribute and presenting
to the Sultan a daughter who was received into the znimna.
The names of the Muhammadan nobles killed at the battle
of Kherla are worthy of attention for, as we have seen, they
probably provided the apocryphal Abdtir Rahman with, a
local habitation and a name. They were four in number
and it appears probable that the requisite tale of five was
completed by Salabat Khan, the governor of Berar, for no
more is heard of this iarafdar, and Firoz Shah, immediately
before he left Ellichpur for Gulbarg.=i, appointed be gallant
Mir Fazl-ullah Anju goveinor of Beian
44 AMRAOTl district, HISTORY AND ARCHAEOLOGY.
41. In 1406 Firoz Shah was at war with Vijayanagar and the
army of Berar under Fazl-ullah was
ei^^P^ed in the siege of Bankapur.
The expedition was successful, Banka-
pur, with the country surrounding it, was annexed to the
BahmanI dominions, and Fazl-ullah and his army returned
to Berar. In 1412 Firoz Shah indulged in an apparently
purposeless campaign in Gondwana in which the army of
Berar probably took the principal part.
In 1417 Firoz embarked on a disastrous war against Vlra
Vijaya of Vijayanagar. Mir Fazl-ullah Anju who, with the
army of Berar, played the man in the decisive battle of the
campaign, in which the Muslims were defeated, was treacher-
ously slain by a Kanarese attendant who had been bribed by
his co-religionists. The affairs of the kingdom fell into great
confusion and nobody was immediately appointed to succeed
the gallant iarafdar of Berar, but the government of the
province was probably carried on by the deputy whom
Fazl-ullah had left behind him when he set out on the fatal
expedition.,
42, In 1422 Ahmad Khan deposed his brother Firoz Shah
, and ascended the throne in Gulbarga
The Khan-i-Jahan ,, ^ ^ ^
appointed governor as Ahmad Shah I. His first care was
of Berar. bring the war with the Hindus to a
successful conclusion, and in the attainment of this object he
laid waste the territories of Vijayanagar. After one of his
actions he was separated from his army while hunting and
nearly fell into the hands of a band of resolute Hindu
warriors, but was rescued by Abdul Kadir, a commander
of 200 horse and captain of the guard, whose soldierly
precautions averted the disaster which Ahmad’s foolish
behaviour courted. Abdul Kadir’s reward was the vacant
governorship of Berar with the title of Khan-i-Jahan in
addition to the ex-officio title of MaJUs-i-AB. Abdul Kadir,
who held the governorship of Berar for nearly forty years,
was the son of Muhammad Isa, the son of Mahmud, the son
of a Turk named Malik Hindul who received the title of
Imad-ul-Mulk fx'om Babman Shah, and held under that king
HISTORY.
45
the appointment of inspector-general of the forces. The
Khan-i-Jahan was thus a Deccani of Turk! descent.
Ahmad Shah made peace with Vlra Vijaya and then set
out to capture Warangal, which fell into the hands of Abdul
Latif Khan-i-Azam, the governor of Bidar. The king then
returned to his capital.
43, In the confusion which followed on the rout of the
Muslims at Bangui affairs in the
provinces of the kingdom had fallen
into great disorder and the Hindus of
the greater part of Berar seem to have risen in rebellion.
In 1425 Ahmad Shah was compelled to march northwards to
restore order. After capturing Mahur and Kalam, which
had fallen into the hands of the Gonds or Hindus, he marched
to Ellichpur, where he halted for a year. His object in
making this long halt in the capital of his northern province
is said to have been the preparation for the extension of his
kingdom towards the north. His brother Firoz Shah had
sent a complimentary letter with expressions of submission
by Mir Fazl-ullah Anju to Amir Timur when that scourge
invaded India in 1398 and the conqueror acknowledged the
letter by bestowing on Firoz the sovereignty of Gujarat and
Maiwa in addition to that of the Deccan, and Firishta supposes
that Ahmad now purposed, if possible, to turn this empty
grant to some account. The theory is a most improbable one,
Ahmad Shah, as we shall see, had conscientious scruples
against attacking brother Muslims, and to the south of
his kingdom lay an unconquered Hindu empire which was
both lawful prey and a source of danger in the case of
difficulties in the north, and he had very little chance of
success against the combined forces of Gujarat and Maiwa,
which would certainly have been joined by Khandesh. The
more reasonable view is that Ahmad was merely strengthening
his northern frontier in order to prevent inroads during his
southern wars, and to this end he built the fort of Gawll and
repaired that of Narnala. These expressions, which are
^Firishta’s, seem to imply that Narnala was the older fort of
*^the two, but they need not be taken too literally, for
46 AMRAOTl DISTRICT. HISTORY AND ARCH.DOLOGY.
Gawllgarh was probably fortified long before the time of
Ahmad Shah. Its name points to its having been at one time
like Gaollgarh in Kbandesh and Asirgarh (Asa Ahir Garh),
the stronghold of a local Gaoll chieftain before the advent of
the Musalmans. Whatever Ahmad's object may have been
Hoshang Shah of Malwa disapproved of his preparations,
and invited Narsmgh Deo of Kherla, who had been reduced
to vassalage by Firoz, to transfer his allegiance to Mahva.
Narsingh Deo refused to listen to Hoshang who, after
consulting Nasir Khan of Khandesh, without whose acquies-
cence he could not afford to act, twice attacked Kherla and
was twice defeated. Ahmad Shah rendered no material
assistance to his vassal and Hoshang’s third attempt on Kherla
was more successful. His officers wrested some districts
from the Gonds and Hoshang prepared to follow up this
advantage by marching on Kherla in person. Narsingh Deo
considered that it was high time to appeal to his suzerain
and in 1428 sent messengers to Ahmad Shah, who had re-
turned to his capital, to ask for help. Ahmad Shah ordered
the Khan-i-Jahan to march to the assistance of Narsingh
Deo with the army of Berar and marched northwards in
leisurely fashion, as though bent only on sport, until he reached
Ellichpur. Meanwhile Hoshang, attributing Ahmad’s com-
parative inaction to fear, advanced on Kherla and after
ravaging the country, sat down to besiege the fortress, boasting
that Ahmad Shah Bahmanl was afraid to meet him in the
field. Ahmad Shah was much incensed when he heard of
Hoshang’s boast, and at once set forth from Ellichpur to
encounter him. While he was yet forty miles distant from
Hoshang’s army the doctors of religion in his camp approached
him, reminded him that no Bahmanid had ever yet de-
clared war on a Muhammadan king and advised him that it
ill became him to attack Hoshang in support of an infidel.
Following their advice Ahmad Shah sent an envoy to Hoshang
apprising him that Narsingh Deo was a vassal of Gulbarga
and requesting him not to molest him. After the despatch of
the envoy Ahmad Shah began to retire and this retrograde
movement combined v/ith his spiritless policy confirmed
HISTORY,
47
Hoshang in the belief that Ahmad feared him, and embold-
ened , him to pursue the Deccanis so closely that he halted
each evening on the ground which they had occupied in the
morning. This insolence transgressed the bounds of even the
pious Ahmad’s forbearance, and when Hoshang crossed the
frontier the doctors of religion were sent away from Ahmad’s
camp and the Deccanis instead of pursuing their way halted to
receive the invaders who advanced without any apprehension of
resistance. Ahmad Shah drew up his forces on the bank of a
river, unfortunately not named. The governor of Berar com-
manded the right wing, Abdullah Khan, a grandson of Ismail
Fateh, the left, and Ala-ud-din Ahmad, the king’s eldest son, the
centre. Ahmad Shah himself, with 2,000 picked cavalry and
twelve elephants, lay in ambush far to the left. Hoshang.
with no more than 17,000 cavalry, suddenly came upon the
Deccanis in a carefully chosen position. He had no choice
but to attack them and did so, and while action was at its
height Ahmad Shah suddenly fell upon Hoshang’s rear.
The army of Malwa was routed and Hoshang Shah fled so
precipitately that he left the ladies of his harem in Ahmad’s
hands. Meanwhile Narsingh Deo had heard of his enemy’s
disaster and, emerging from Kherla, fell upon the beaten
army and completed the heavy tale of slaughter, while
Hoshang and the remnant of his forces made the best of their
way to MSndu. The loss suffered by Musalmans at the hands
of an unbeliever again aroused Ahmad Shah’s scruples and to
console his adversary he returned his ladies to him under a
trusty guard, accompanied by a present of many eunuchs.
Ahmad ihen returned to Gulbarga. A less piobablc accouin of
this campaign represents Ahmad Shiih as ihc aggressor.
According to this account lie was preparing to attack Narsingh
Deo when Hoshang Shah marched to the latter’s aid. Which-
ever version be accepted Ahmad Shah was victorious. He
lefi Berar in 1429 and in die same year transferred his capital
Jrom Gulbarga to Bldar.
4.-I . In T430, the daughter of Nasir Khan, the ruler of Klian-
tVar with Gujarat and
MSKva.
desk, was married to Ala-ud-dln Ahmad,
the eldest sou of Ahmad Shiili. The
marriage is of local interest for it after-
48 AMRAOTI DISTRICT. HISTORY AND ARCH.T.OLOGY.
wards led to a war between Ala-ud-din Ahmad and his father-
in-law. In the same year Khalaf Hasan BasrI, entitled
Malik-ut-Tujjar, who had been one of Ahmad Shah’s earliest
partisans, was made governor of Daulatabad. Here his zeal
in his master’s service brought on a war between Ahmad Shah
of the Deccan and Ahmad Shah of Gujarat which lasted for
a year and exhausted both sides. In 1433 Hoshang Shah of
Malwa, taking advantage of the enfeebled condition of the
Deccan, attacked and annexed Kherla, slaying Narsingh Deo,
Ahmad Shah marched into Berar and was on the point of
attacking Hoshang when Nasir Khan of Khandesh intervened
and proposed terms of peace which were accepted by both
sides. These terms were that Hoshang Shah should return
to Kherla and that Berar should remain a part of Ahmad Shah’s
dominions. The acceptance of these terms by Ahmad Shah
indicates the extent to which he had been weakened by the
war with Gujarat, for it would have been unnecessary to
introduce into the treaty the article relating to Berar unless
Hoshang Shah had been prepared, with some hope of success,
to attempt its annexation, and Ahmad Shah actually gave up
all that he was prepared to fight for.
45. Ahmad Shah I died in 1435 and was succeeded by his
eldest son, Ala-ud-dIn Ahmad Shah If,
who had married the daughter of Nasir
Khan. This lady, in a fit of jealousy, complained to her father
that her husband was neglecting her for a Hindu mistress, and
Nasir Khan prepared to invade his son-in-law’s dominions.
Having obtained the assent of Ahmad Shah of Gujarat to his
enterprise he began to prepare his way by detaching the nobles
of Berar from their allegiance to the Bahmani king. Nasir
Khan claimed descent from the second Khalifa^ Umar-ul-
Faruk, and succeeded in persuading many of the officers in
Berar that the one who fell fighting in the cause of the descen-
dants of the greatest of the prophet’s successors would receive
the reward promised to martyrs for the faith. It is not easy to
understand how the officers of Berar were deceived for Nasir
Khan allied himself with infidel Gonds and probably with the
Korkus of the Melghat also, but many fell into the trap and
War with Khandesh.
HISTORY.
4 ^.
formed a strong party in Berar against the BahmanI king,
The campaign did not take place in the Amraoti District but
in Buldana and Khandesh, whither Nasir Khan was driven,
and ended in the complete discomfiture of the invaders, but
before engaging Nasir Khan, Khalaf Hasan BasrI found it
necessary to strengthen the garrison of EHichpur, in order to
prevent the Korkus from descending on the plains.
46. In 1443 the army of Berar was employed, with the armies
of the other provinces of the kingdom,
War with Vijayanagai. driving Devaraya II of Vijayanagar
out of the Raichur Doab, which he had occupied, but Berar
does not seem to have been settled enough to spare its
governor for this expedition, for the Khan-i>Jahan did not
accompany the army.
47. Ala-ud-din Ahmad II died in 1458 and was succeeded by
his son Humayhn “the Tyrant” who
by HlhmMtrnaTwl" ascended the throne when
Jalal Khan and Sikandar Khan, two
nobles who had rebelled in the previous reign, again rose. The
governor of Berar who had visited the capital for the purpose
of offering his congratulations to the new king was employed
against the rebels, but was defeated, and the rising was
ultimately suppressed by Humayun. We hear no more of
Berar during this brief and troubled reign. Humayun Shah
died in 1461 and was succeeded by his son Nizam Shah, aged
eight. In 1462 Mahmud Shah of Malwa, taking advantage of
the new king’s youth, invaded the Deccan by way of western
Berar, The army of Bxdar was employed in keeping off the
rajas of Telingana and Orissa, who had invaded the BahmanI
dominions on the east, and the armies of Berar, Daulatabad
and Gulbarga marched to meet Mahmud Shah. A battle was
fought at Kandahar about seventy miles north of Bldar, and
the BahmanI forces were defeated, Nizam Shah was carried off
by his mother to Firozabad near Gulbarga while Mahmud
Shah of Malwa sacked Bldar. He had begun to lay siege to
the citadel when he heard that Mahmud Shah of Gujarat, to
whom Nizam Shah’s mother had appealed for help, had
reached the north-western frontier of the BahmanI kingdom
4
50 AMRAOTI DISTRICT. HISTORY AND ARCHA20LCGY
with 80,000 horse. Mahmod Gavvan, one of the chief nobles
of the BahmanI kingdom, joined the Gujaratis with five or six
thousand cavalry, and continued to raise and borrow troops
until he was able to take the field with an army of 40,000
Deccani and Gujarati horse. He sent 10,000 Deccani horse
into Berar to cut off the invader’s retreat and marched
towards Bldar with the remainder of his force. Encamping
between Bir and Kandahar he cut off the besiegers’
supplies but would not risk a battle, though Mahmud
Shah of Malwa could not put more than 30,000 horse into
the field. At length the army of Malwa was starved out and
Mahmud Shah of Malwa, after blinding his elephants and burn-
ing his heavy baggage, retreated northwards through eastern
Berar. He was pursued and harassed throughout his retreat
by Mahmud Gawan and the ten thousand horse which had
been awaiting him in Berar. In order to avoid Mahmud
Gawan on the one hand and escape Mahmud Shah of Gujarat
on the other, he resolved to retreat through the hills of the
Melghat and engaged one of the Korku rajas of that tract as
a guide. After leading him by Ellichpur and Akot the raja
took him into the hills and there intentionally led him astray.
In the Melghat the army of Malwa perished by the thousand
from heat and thirst and by the attacks of the Korkus, who
were instigated by their raja. When the remnant of the army
at length emerged from the wild hill country, Mahmud Shah of
Malwa had the Korku raja put to death.
In the following year Mahmud of Malwa again invaded the
BahmanI dominions and advanced as far as Daulatabad, but
retreated on hearing that Mahmud of Gujarat was again
marching to the support of the Deccanis.
Nizam Shah died in 1463 and was succeeded by his brother
Muhammad III, surnamed Lashkan or “the soldier.”
48. In 1467 Nizam-ul-Mulk the Turk, who had commanded
, _ the left wing in the battle of Kandahar
War with Kherla. . , i , -1 -1 r »/r ,
against Mahmud Shah of Malwa, was
appointed governor of Berar and was ordered to capture
Kherla, where a Gond prince still owed allegiance to Malwa.
IIISTOkY.
51
The army of Eeriir marched against Kherla and besieged it
and the aimy of Millwa, in an attempt to raise the siege, was
signally defeated. Kherla fell, but two Rajputs of the place
approached Nizam-ul-Mulk under the pretence of making
their submission to him and assassinated him. They then
attacked his attendants and were put to death. The two
officers next m authority to Ni/am-ul-Mulk were Yusuf Add
Khan', afterwards the founder of the Adil Shahi dynasty of
Eljapur, and Darya Khan the Turk. These nobles argued
that the desperate enterprise of the two Rajputs could not
have been undertaken otherwise than at the instigation of
some of the inhabitants of Kherla and a massacre of these
unfortunates, with their wives and children, followed. Yusuf
and Darya left a force to hold Kherla and returned to Bidar
with the body of their late leader. Muhammad Shah approved
of their action and bestowed Kherla upon them in jagir.
Mahmiid Shah of Mahva now sent an embassy to Muhammad
Shnh and reminded him of the treaty between .Ahmad Shah
BahmanI and Hosliang Shah of Mahva, in which it was
stipulated that Kherla should belong to Mahva and Berar to
the Bahmanids. He besought Muhammad Shah not to he a
breaker of treaties, or the means of stirring up strife between
Musalmans. Muhammad Shah returned to him a dignified
reply by Shaikh Ahmad the and Sharif-ul-Mulk. lie
thanked God that no one of 1 he race of Bahman had ever been
known to break a treaty and reminded Mahnmd Shah that
when the affairs of the BahmanI kingdom were in confusion
after the accession of the boy-king Nizam Shah it was Mahmud
himself who had broken faith by invading the BahmanI
dominions. As for Kherla, he said, he had no need of such
fortresses. In every corner of the empire of Karnata, which
was still in the hands of the infidels, there were many fortresses
like Kherla, and since these were ready to his hand he had no
wish to deprive a brother Musalman of liis fortresses. A new
treaty was concluded whereby cither sovereign bound himself
> There is some conflict of authorities here. Some historians give the
name of Yusuf Adil Khan tlie Deccani, a much less distinguished person,
but a bitter enemy of Yusuf Adil Khan Sawat^as he was called. On the
whole the account given in the tCJit is the n)ore probable,
53 AMRAOTI DISTRICT. HISTORY AND ARCH, OOLOGY.
by the most solemn oaths not to molest or invade the dominions
of the other, and Kherla, which had been annexed to Berar,
was handed back by Muhammad Shah to the king of Malwa.
49. The governorship of Berar seems to have remained
vacant for a few years after the death
Niz-amul-Mulk the Turk until,
in 1471, Fateh-ullah Imad-ul-Mulk was
made governor. This amli' is worthy of special notice,
for he founded the Imad Shahi dynasty, which reigned in
Berar for a period of eighty years. He was a Brahman
of Vijayanagar who was captured by the Musalmans in 1422
early in the reign of Ahmad Shah I, and was bestowed
on the Khan-i-Jahan, who was appointed governor of Berar
immediately after the conclusion of the campaign, and was
brought up as a Musaiman, but never forgot his Brahman
descent or his native land. More than sixty years after his
capture when, as governor of Berar, he strengthened the forti-
fications of Gawllgarh, he adorned the northern gate, after-
wards known as the Delhi gate, with representations of the
emblem of Vijayanagar, the ganda-hhertmdat a fabulous two-
headed bird which was said to prey upon elephants, and these
representations still remain, almost as clearly cut as when
Fateh-ullah set them up as his boast that though a Musaiman
and the faithful servant of a Musaiman he was by blood a
twice born Brahman and a native of the great Hindu empire of
Vijayanagar. Fateh-ullah had spent all his service, if we
except temporary periods of absence in the field, in Berar and
was a very fair instance of the strength and the weakness of
the provincial system of the Bahmani kingdom. He seems to
have been sincerely attached to the province, despite his pride
of race and descent, and to have been at the same time a faith-
ful servant of the Bahmanids. In his later years, when
troubles gathered thick and fast around the head of the
descendant of Bahman Shah and when the provincial governors
were driven rather than tempted to rebellion, he was regarded
as the Nestor of the Deccan, and his entire freedom from party
prejudice was displayed in his grief and anget at the unjust
ejjecution of Mahmud Gawan, a foreigner, and in his unwaver-
HISTORY.
53
ing friendship for Yiisuf Add Khan Sawai another foreigner,
u’ho differed from him in religion, being a staunch Shiah while
rateh-nllah was an equally staunch SunnT.
Uerar suffered, with the real of the Deccan, fiom the terrible
two years of famine in 1473, and 147^, and most of those wlio
escaped death from star\ation fled to Mahva and Gujarat. In
the third year rain fell, but prosperity was slow to return, for
tliere were few loft to till the soil and the Avandcrers returned
by slow degrees.
50 In the campaigns of Muhammad III in Orissa, Telingana,
, and the Peninsula, Fateh -ullah. with
Redistribution of pro r ,
vinccb. the army of Perar, boro a share. In
1480, before these campaigns had been
brought to a close, the four pro\ iiices into which the Deccan
had been duided by Bahman Shah weic subdivided into eight.
Borar was divided into the Uvo now provinces of northern
Berar, named Gawil, and southern Berar, named Mrihur, the
whole of the Amraoti District being included in the former,
which remained under the governorship of Fateh-ullah Imad-
ul-Mulk, while Khuda wand Khan thexAfrican was made gover-
nor of Mall ur. Ai the same time the powers of the provin-
cial governors were much curtailed. Many parganas of the
provinces were made A/ms and were administered by officers
appointed direct by the crown, while the goiernors were
allowed to appoint a commandant only to the chief fort in each
province, all other commandants of forts being appointed
direct by the king. These belated reforms caused much dis-
satisfaction among some of the ia'/afdais, but the faithful
Fateh-ullah, though stripped of half his province, seems to
have taken no exception to them. The malcontents, how-
ever, entered into a conspiracy against Mahmud Gawlin, the
author of the reforms, and compassed his death m 14S1.
Muhammad TIT wdio was their dupe discovered his minister’s
innocence when itw’as too late and bitterly repented his action.
Fateh-ullah Imad-ul-Mulk and Khuda w’and Khan, with
the troops of Berar, left the royal camp and encamped at a
distance of two leagues from it. When asked the reason of
this move Fateh-ullah boldly replied that when so old and
54 AMRAOTI DISTRICT. HISTORY AND AkCHiEOLOGV.
faithful a servant as Mahmud Gawan could be murdered on
the lying reports of false witnesses nobody within the king’s
reach was safe. The wretched king, now smitten with remorse,
sent a secret message imploring them to return that he might
take counsel with them regarding the punishment of those who
had brought Khaja Mahmud to his death, but Fateh-ullah
and Khudawand Khan replied that they would shape their
conduct on that of Yusuf Adil Khan, who was then absent
on a distant expedition. Yusuf was at once recalled and joined
Fateh-ullah and Khudawand Khan. The three tavajdars
then entered the royal camp and made their demands. They
did not succeed in bringing the ringleaders of the conspiracy
to punishment, but Yusuf obtained the province of Bijapur,
which enabled him to make provision for the followers of the
deceased minister. Shortly after this the iavafdars were dis-
missed to their provinces.
51. Fateh-ullah and Khudawand Khan were recalled from
DisaKection ot the afterwards in order that
tarafdays of Berar. they might attend Muhammad III on
a progress through the Province of
Bijapur. They obeyed the summons, but both on the march
and in camp placed a distance between themselves and the
royal camp, and saluted the king from afar when he marched.
In this manner the armies reached Belgaum, whence the
tarafddrs were ordered to accompany the king to Goa and the
Konkan, which they refused to do. Yusuf Adil Khan, how-
ever, marched to the aid of Goa, then besieged by Rajashekhara
of Vijayanagar, while Muhammad III marched to Firozabad.
Fateh-ullah and Khudawand Khan refused to accompany
him any further, and returned to Berar without leave.
Muhammad felt their defection deeply, but dared not resent
h, for he knew that their mistrust of him was justified, and
that civil war would but hasten the disruption of his kingdom.
52. Muhammad Shah died of drink on March 23rd, 1482,
. . e j aiid was succeeded by his son Mahmud
Shah. Shah, a boy of twelve ; all power in the
capital was held by Malik Hasan Nizam-
Ul-Mhlk, the principal enemy of the late Mahmud Gawan who
HISTORY.
was now minister of the kingdom. Fateh-uilali Imad-uI-Muik.
on visiting the capital to congratulate the young king on hit--
accession, was made titular minister of the kingdom, his son
Shaikh Ala-ud-dm being appointed bis deputy in northern
Bcrar, but the intrigues and massacres ot the capital wcie not
to the veteran’s taste, and ho returned to Ellichpur without
having exercised the duties of his post at the capital.
Alalik Hasan Xizain-ul-Mulk was assassinated before 1485
and alfairs in Bldar went from bad to worse. The young king
showed a precocious bent towards debauchery and the admi-
nistration passed into the hands of Kasim Band, a Tutk.
The tarafihrs, w'ell aware that all orders issued were the
orders of Kasim BarTd, ignored messages from the capital, and
were practically independent, attending only occasionally with
their armies when summoned to do so. This attendance only
accentuated the humiliation of the nominal ruler, whose
splendour was utterly eclipsed by tliat of the armaments w'hich
the iarafda'.’s brought into the field.
53. In 1490 Malik Ahmad, the son of Malik ITasan Nizilm-ub
Mulk, having founded Ahmadnagar and
Proparations for securing his
independence, invited Yusuf Adil Khan
of BTjapur and Fateli-ullah Tmad-ul-Miilk of Gawd to join him
in assuming the style and insignia of royalty. The compact
was scaled by the consent of each of these three provincial
governors, and each had the khutha read in the mosques of
his kingdom m his owm name, omitting that of Mahmud Shah
BahmanT. Henceforth these rulers will be known by the titles
Tusuf Adil Shah, Ahmad Nizam Shah, and Fateh-ullah Imiid
Shah, though Yusuf and Fateh-ullah appear to have been very
chary of using the ro3'al title.
The supremacy of Kasim BarTd m the capital had, however,
convinced Fateh-ullah of the necessity for some decisive step,
and the veteran statesman had already prepared himself for
possible opposition by improving the defences of Gawllgarh
and N arnala.
Although I'ateh-ullah had declared himself independent he
still regarded himself, to some extent, as a vassal of the
5^ AMRAOTI DISTRICT. HISTORY AND ARCHiCoLoGY.
BalimanI king. Thus, in 1494, when a rebel named Bahadur
Gllani, who had established himself on the western coast of the
Deccan, committed in Gujarat excesses, which caused Mahmud
Shah of that country to demand his punishment at the hands
of Mahmud Shah BahraanI, Fateh-ullah Imad Shah, together
with Yusuf Adil Shah and Ahmad Nizam Shah, responded to
his old master’s appeal and aided him against the rebel, who
was defeated and slam after a long and arduous campaign.
But the aid thus rendered differed from the submissive attend-
ance of the iamfiars for the Sultans did not attend in
person but sent contingents.
54. In 1504 Yusuf Adil Shah, who was a Shiah, had the
khntha read in the mosques of the
Bijapur kingdom after the Shiah
fashion, he being the first Muhammadan
ruler in India to make this public profession of the Shiah
faith. Amir Band who had succeeded his father, Kasim
Barid, in that same year sent notices in Mahmud Shah’s
name to Fateh-ullah Imad Shah, Khudawand Khan of
Mahur, and Sultan Kuli Kutb-ul-Mulk, who had been appointed
governor of Telingana and had established himself at Golconda,
asking them to combine to stamp out the heresy. The result
of the appeal was curious. Sultan Kull Kutb-ul-Mulk who
was himself a devoted Shiah, responded to it at once,
apparently on the ground that Yusuf Adil Shah’s act was
a more pronounced declaration of opposition to Bahmani
traditions than his mere assumption of independence, and
possibly from the motive which led Innocent XI to advise
James II to moderate his zeal for the propagation of Roman
doctrine and practice in England. Fateh-ullah Imad Shah,
and Khudawand Khan on the other hand, though both were
professed Sunnis, showed very clearly their disinclination to
act against their old ally, and excused themselves. As to
what followed there is a conflict of authority. Firishta says
that Amir Barid was much perplexed by the contumacy of
the two chiefs of Berar and applied to Ahmad Nizam Shah
for aid which was promptly rendered. All bin Aziz-ullah
Tahatabai, whose dates do not agree with those of Firishta,
HISTORY.
57
though he is dearly referring to the same incident, writes that
Mahmud Shah, on becoming aware of Fateh-ullah Imacl
Shah's refusal to take the licld against Yusuf Adil Shfih,
marched into Berar, whereupon Fateh-ullah, who was no
mere willing to take up arms against the Bahmanid than
a'^ainst Yusuf, made his submission to him. Firishta's account
IS to be preferred, for he was, though sometimes misinformed,
ahvays impartial, whereas the author of the Burlian-i-Maiisir
was an uncompromising partisan of the Ni/am Shalii kings
and also, strangely enough, a strenuous supporter of the fiction
that IMahmud Shah was as independent a king as any of his
forefathers. Moreover, immediately after its account of these
events, the Btirhan-i-Mounr goes wildly astray m its references
to I'aleh-ullah Imad Shah and Yusuf Adil Shah. The
following is the true account of what happened, Amir Baud
with Mahmud Shfih, Sultan KulT Kutb-ul-Mulk, Ahmad
Nizam Shah, and Fakhr-ul-lMulk the Deccani marched against
Yusuf Adil Shah, who, finding that his external foes and the
Sunnis in his own kingdom were too strong for him, left
Fakhr-ul-j\Iulk the Turk to hold Gulbaiga and the sui rounding
country, sent his infant son Ismail with Kama! Khan the
Deccani lo Bljapur, and made the best of his w£iy, with 5,000
horse, to the territories of his old friend Fateh-ullah Imad
Shall, closely pursued by the allies who followed him almost to
the gates of GawTlgarh. Fateh-ullah was again greatly
perplexed. lie would not give up the refugee, he would not
fight for the Shiah religion, and iii no circumstances uould
he draw the swoid against the Bahmaui king. lie therefore
despatched Yusuf Adil Shah lo Daud Khan of Khandesh,
while he proceeded to make terms with the invaders of Berar.
FIis methods are a fair example of the astuteness which he
seems always to have brought into play in the interests of
justice and toleration. He sent envoys to Ahmad Nizam Shah
and Sultan Kuli Kutb-ul-Mulk lo apprise them of his view of
the quarrel which was that Amir BarTd, vcell known, he said,
as ‘ the fox of the Deccan,’ was not actuated in his persecution
of Yiisuf Adil Shah by religious scruples, but merely desired
to gain possesion of Bijapur. Should he attain his object, the
58 aMraoti district, history and archeology.
old diplomatist added, the position of those who held the other
provinces of the kingdom would not be enviable, for Amir
Barld already held the BahmanI king in the hollow of his hand
and wanted but an addition to his territorial possessions to
make him supreme in the Deccan. This entirely correct view
of the situation impressed itself on Ahmad Nizam Shah and
Kutb-ul-Mulk, who at once returned to their provinces without
even going through the form of bidding Mahmud Shah farewell.
The Sultan of Berar was now free to deal with the Sultan of
Bldar. He represented to Mahmud that there was nothing to
be gained by prosecuting the war and that the wisest course
was to proclaim that Yusuf was pardoned and to return to
Bldar. Mahmud Shah was inclined to accept this counsel, but
Amir Barld did not intend to let Bijapur slip through his
fingers so easily and was about to carry Mahmud off to besiege
Bldar, but meanwhile Yusuf Adil Shah had heard of the retreat
of x^hmad Nizam Shah and Kutb-ul-Mulk and returned with
all haste from Burhanpur to Gawllgarh. He now took the
field against MahmudShah, or rather against Amir Barld, who,
perceiving that he was no match for Yusuf and Fateh-ullah in
combination, hurriedly retreated to Bldar, leaving Berar in
peace.
55* The date of the death of Fateh-ullah Imad Shah is vari*
ously given as 1504 and 1510. The latter
Death^of^Fateh-ullah ^ mistake, His age when
he was taken from Vijayanagar in 1422
is not given, and we are merely told that he was then a boy.
Assuming his age to have been ten years he must have been
82 years of age at the time of his death. Fateh-ullah was
succeeded by his son Ala-ud-dln Imad Shah, of whom Firishta
contradictorily says that he was the first of the dynasty to use
the royal title. There can be little doubt that his father used
it occasionally, certainly in his correspondence with Yhsuf
Adil Shah and Ahmad Nizam Shah, to whom he would not
have admitted himself to be inferior, but it is likely that he
refrained from using it in correspondence with the BahmanI
king.
HISTORY.
59
56. The early part of Ahl-ud-dln’s leign is obscure. According
. to one authority he quietly succeeded his
AI.T-ud-dln Imad Shah. ^ ^ ^ u
father, but accordirg to another -he was
a prisoner in the fort of Ramgiri, in Telingana, at the time of
his father’s death, in the power of Amir Barldand remained in
captivity until he was rescued by one of the sons of Khuda-
wand Khan of Mahur. On his release Ala-ud-din is said to
have proceeded at once to G.awllgarh and to have assumed the
go\-crnmcnt of his father’s kingdom, wdiile Mahmud Shah
Bahmani, at the request of Yusuf Add Shah, conferred upon
him his father’s title of Imad-ul-Mulk. This story is improb-
able. In the first place the dales are all wrong, for Fatch-ullah
is represented as having died before 1500, -whereas he was cer-
tainly alive in 1504, and in the second place it is highly im-
probable that Fateh-ullah, who had, as we have seen, great
power and influence in the Deccan would have left his son —
his only son so far as we know — in the hands of his greatest
enemy, ‘ the fox of the Deccan.’ The more probable story is
that which represents Ala-ud-din Imad Shah as quietly suc-
ceeding his father m Ellichpur,
57. In 1508 Burhan Nizam Shah succeeded his father Ahmad
. , in Ahmadnagar at the age of seven.
War with Ahmadnagar. „„ , . . , . r , , . ,
1 he administration of that kingdom was
m the hands of Mukaramal Khan, who had been Ahmad’s
minister, and - the Deccani nobles of the Slate, whose
predominance was distasteful to the ‘ foreigners,’ i c.,
the Persian and Turk! soldiers of fortune who ahvay.s
formed a political party of their own in the Dcccan. The
foreigners conspired to overthrow the Dcccanis, and on the
failure of their plot fled from Ahmadnagar with 8,000 horse
and took refuge with Ala-ud-dln Imad Shah in Ellichpur*
They found no difficulty m persuading him that tlie affairs
of Ahmadnagar were in hopeless confusion and that the con-
quest of that kingdom would be an easy task. Ala-ud-din,
without waiting to consider hov/ far the interests of the fugi-
tives had coloured their stor}', collected his troops fiom Gawil-
garh and Ellichpur and marched for the frontier, Mukam-
mal Khan was prepared and met him. After a severely con*
6o AMRAOTI DISTRICT. HISTORY AND ARCHAEOLOGY.
tested battle victory declared itself for Ahmadnagar, and Ala
ud-din with the army of Berar fled to Ellichpur. The army
of Ahmadnagar followed up its victory and laid waste the
greater part of south-western Berar, pressing Ala-ud-din so
hard that he deserted his country andfledtoBurhanpur, where
he besought Adil Khan III, the ruler of Khandesh, to use
his good offices in the cause of peace. Adil Khan of Khan-
desh and his doctors of religion brought about a peace, but
quarrels soon broke out afresh.
58. Burhan Nizam Shah’s grandfather, Malik Hasan Nizam-
ul-Mulk, was descended of a Brahman
The affair of Pathri. . , 1 , 1 , ,1 , j ,
family which had held the hereditary
office of kidkavnl or patwari ' in Pathri, near the Godavari
river. For some reason or another, probably the pro-
selytizing zeal of one of the BahmanI kings, the ancestor
of Hasan had fled from Pathri and taken refuge in
the Hindu kingdom of Ahmadnagar. Malik Hasan, whose
original name was Tima Bhat, had been captured, like Fateh-
ullah Imad-ul-Mulk, in one of the campaigns against Vijaya-
nagar, and brought up as a Muslim. When he attained to
power, and the governorship of a province to the border of
which his ancestral home was adjacent, his relatives flocked
from Vijyanagar to Ahmadnagar and urged his son, Ahmad
Nizam Shah, to include in his dominions the town of Pathri,
which lay on the southern border of Berar. Mukammal Khan
wrote, by command of Burhan Nizam Shah, proposing that
Ala-ud-dIn Imad Shah should cede Pathri to Ahmadnagar in
exchange for a richer pargana. Ala-ud-dIn refused to listen
to this proposal and began to fortify Pathri. Mukammal
Khan then- complained that the establishment of a military
post so close to the frontier would give rise to depredations on
the part of the more lawless members of the garrison and
consequent hostilities between Ahmadnagar and Berar. Ala-
ud-dIn paid no heed to the protest, completed his fort and
returned to Ellichpur. In 1518 Mukammal Khan, under the
pretence that Burhan Nizam Shah wished to enjoy the cool air
' , In this case probably the Despandya xffatan of the pargana.
HISTORY.
6l
of the'hills above Daulatabad and visit the caves of Ellora,
collected a large army and marched in a leisurely way to
Daulatabad, whence he made a sudden forced march on Pathri.
The town was taken by escalade and the army cf Ahmadnagar
possessed itself of the whole pargana. Burhan having attained
his object returned to his capital leaving Miyan Muhammad
Ghorl, an officer who had greatly distinguished himself in the
assault, to govern the pargana with the title of Kamil Khan.
Ala-ud-din Imad Shah was not strong enough to resent this
aggression at the time, and though it rankled in his memory
he suffered himself to be cajoled six years later by Mulla
Haidar Astrabadi, an envoy from Ahmadnagar, into an alli-
ance with Burhan Nizam Shah, who was then engaged in an
acrimonious dispute with Ismail Adil Shah regarding the
possession of the fortress of Sholapur. In 1524 a battle was
fought at Sholapur and Ala-ud-din, whose army was opposed
to a wing of the Bijapurs commanded by Asad Khan of
Belgaum, was utterly defeated and withdrew by rapid marches
and in great disorder to Gawllgarh, forsaking his ally. Burhan
Nizam Shah was defeated and forced to retreat to Ahmadnagar.
5q. Ala-ud-dIn Imad Shah now perceived his error in allying
himself with Burhan, and Ismail Adil
Pathri recovered. War ^ ,
with Ahmadnagar ohali, anxious to weaken Ahmadnagar
and Bidar. much as possible, persuaded Suliaii
Kull Kutb Shah in 1527 to aid Ala-ud-din in recovering Pathri,
The allies succeeded in wresting Pathri for a time from
Burhan, but he entered into an alliance with Arnlr Band of
Bidar and marched from Ahmadnagar to Pathri, the fortifica-
tions of which place, in the course of a cannonade of two
months’ duration, he succeeded in destroying. The place fell
again into his hands and once more the pargana was annexed to
Ahmadnagar and bestowed upon some cousins of Burhan
Nizam Shah who still adhered to the faith of their fathers.
Burhan was not disposed to regard the recapture of Pathri as
a sufficient punishment for Ala-ud-din, and having captured
Mahur occupied southern Berar. He now turned his eyes to-
wards Ellichpur and formed the design of annexing the whole
62 AMRAOTI DISTRICT. HISTORY AND ARCHEOLOGY.
of Berar to his kingdom. Ala-ud-din, who had been deserted
by Sultan Kull Kutb Shah, was in no position to face the allied
armies of Ahmadnagar and Bidar. He, therefore, fled from
Ellichpur to Burhanpur and sought assistance from Mlran
Muhammad Shah of Khandesh. Mlran Muhammad responded
to the appeal and marched with his unfortunate ally into Berar.
The armies of Berar and Khandesh met the allied armies of
Ahmadnagar and Bidar in battle and were utterly defeated.
We are not told where this battle was fought, but it was
probably not far south of Ellichpur, towards which place the
invaders had marched from Mahur, and may have been in the
immediate neighbourhood of the town. Burhan N izam Shah
now held practically the whole of Berar and captured 300
elephants and the whole of Ala-ud-din’s artillery and
stores. Ala-ud-dIn and Miran Muhammad Shah fled to
Burhanpur and thence sent a message to Bahadur Shah
of Gujarat, imploring his assistance. Bahadur Shah snatched
at the opportunity of interfering in the affairs of the Deccan
and in 1528 sent a large army by way of Nandarbar and Sul-
tanpur towards Ahmadnagar, and also entered Berar. Burhan
Nizam Shah was much perturbed by the appearance of this
formidable adversary on the scene. He made a wild appeal
for help to Babar, not yet firmly seated on the throne of Delhi,
and more reasonable appeals to Sultan Kull Kutb Shah of
Golconda and Ismail Adil Shah of Bijapur. The former was
engaged in warfare with the Hindus of Telingana and
professed himself unable to send assistance, but Ismail
sent 6,000 picked horse and much treasure. Bahadur
Shah entered Berar on the pretext of restoring Pathri and
southern Berar to Ala-ud-dIn, but having seen the country
he desired it for himself and made no haste to leave. This
was very soon perceived by Ala-ud-din, w'ho repented of his
folly and ventured to suggest to Bahadur Shah that the Ahmad-
nagar kingdom should be the theatre of war. He promised
that if Bahadur Shah would conquer that kingdom for him he
would resign the kingdom of Berar. Bahadur Shah accepted
the offer and advanced against Burhan N izam Shah, who was
now encamped on the plateau of Bir. Amir Barid fell upon
HISTORV.
63
the advancing foes and slew two or three thousand of the
Gujaratis. This enraged Bahadur Shah, who sent 20,000
horse against Amir Barld. The battle soon became general,
and the Deccanis were defeated and fled to Purenda. Being
pursued thither they again fled to Junnar, while Bahadur Shah
occupied Ahmadnagar. Plere he remained until supplies,
which the Deccanis cut off, became scarce. He then
marched to Daulatabad and left Ala-ud-din Imad Shah and
the amirs of Gujarat to besiege that fortress while he en-
camped on the plateau above it. Burhan Nizam Shah now
made a fervent appeal to Ismail Adil Shah for further assist-
ance. Ismail replied with expressions of goodwill, sent five
hundred of his most efficient cavalry, and expressed regret
that the hostile attitude of the raja of Vijayanagar prevented
him from leaving his capital. Burhan wanted the prestige
of Ismail’s presence with his army, not a regiment of cavalry.
In the circumstances he did the best he could, collected all the
troops that could be raised between Junnar and Ahmadnagar,
and ascended into the Daulatabad plateau. Here a battle
was precipitated by the incautious valour of Amir Barld, and
although the issue hung for some time in the’^balance, the
Deccanis were again defeated. The problem now was not an
equitable decision of the dispute between the kings of Berar
and Ahmadnagar, but the expulsion of an inconvenient intruder
who was strong enough to upset entirely the balance of power
in the Deccan. Burhan Nizam Shah opened negotiations
with Alfi-ud-din Imad Shah and professed himself ready 10
restore all that had been captured by him. Alii-ud-dln and
Miran Muhammad Shah weto now as apprehensive as their
former enemies of Bahadur Shah’s intentions and approached
Khudawand Khan, the latter’s minister, with a request that
his master would leave the Deccan. Khudawand Khan replied
that Bahadur Shah had not come uninvited, and that if the
Sultans of the Deccan composed their differences all would be
vvell. The intimation w'as sufficient. Ala-ud-dIn Imad Shah
sent his surplus supply of grain to the defenders of Daulata-
bad and returned to Ellichpur. Bahadur Shah and Miran
hluhammad Shah decided that they would do well to
64 AMRAOTI DISTRICT. HISTORY AND ARCH/EOLO6Y.
return to their capitals before the rains rendered both
the country and^ the rivers impassable. They retreated
after stipulating that the boundaries of Berar and
Ahmadnagar should remain in statu quo ante bellum, that the
khuila should be read in both kingdoms in the name of
Bahadur Shah and that both Ala-ud-din and Burhan should
pay a war indemnity. Miran Muhammad Shah, after his
return to Burhanpur, called upon Burhan Nizam Shah to fulfil
his obligations by restoring to Ala-ud-din Pathri and Mahur
and all the elephants and other booty which had been captured
near Ellichpur. Burhan’s reply to this message was to return
to Miran Muhammad some elephants which had been captured
from him, on receiving which’ Miran Muhammad desisted
from urging on Burhan the fulfilment of his compact with
Ala-ud-dIn.
60. This was not the last campaign in which the warlike but
War with Golconda. Ala-ud-dln was engaged.
Sultan Kull Kutb Shah of Golconda,
who had proclaimed himself independent in 1512, was for
many years troubled by a Turk entitled Kivam-uhMulk
who had been appointed by Mahmud Shah BahmanI
governor of eastern Telingana and resisted Sultan Kuli’s
claims to dominion over that tract. He maintained a
guerilla warfare for years, with intermittent encouragement
from Bldar and perhaps from Berar also, until he was defeat-
ed by Sultan Kull at Gelgandal when he fled and took refuge
with Ala-ud-din Iraad Shah in Berar. Sultan Kuli sent
an envoy to Berar to demand the delivery of the fugitive and
also the restoration of certain districts of south-eastern Berar
which in the time of the Bahmanids had belonged to Telin-
gana. On Ala-ud-dln’s refusal to satisfy these demands
Sultan Kull marched northwards and Ala-ud-dIn marched
from Ellichpur to meet him. A battle was fought near
Ramgiri and the |Beraris were utterly defeated. Ala-ud-
dm fled to Ellichpur and Sultan Kull possessed himself of the
disputed territory and returned to Golconda. Unfortunately
the date of these operations is not given, but it appears pro-
bable that they took place after Jhe departure of Bahadur
HISTORY.
65
Darya Imad Shah,
Shah of Gujarat from the Deccan. The date of the death of
Ala-ud-dln Imad Shah is not certain, but he probably
died in i5'^9 and was succeeded by his son Darya Imad
Shah.
61. The early years of Darya Imad Shah’s reign were
uneventful and his kingdom enjoyed a
much needed rest. In 1554 Husain
Nizam Shah succeeded, not without opposition, to the throne
of Ahmadnagar. His younger brother, Abdul Kadir, was
induced to make a fight for the throne but w^as overcome and
took refuge with Darya Imad Shah, under whose protection
he remained until his death. Shortly after Mlran Abdul
Kadir’s flight Saif Ain-ul-Mulk, who had been commander-in-
chief of the army of Ahmadnagar in the latter part of the
reign of Durban Nizam Shah and on his death had espoused
the cause of Abdul Kadir, became apprehensive lest Husain
Nizam Shah should punish him for his defection, and fled to
Ellichpur, where he took refuge with Darya Imad Shah. He
did not remain long m Berar but took service under Ibrahim
Adil Shah of Bijapur, who interested himself in plots to
dethrone Husain Nizam Shah. Ibrahim’s interference
brought about a war between Bijapur and Ahmadnagar and
Husain sent a Brahman envoy named Viswas Rao to Daryii
Imad Shuih to ask him for aid. Darya sent 7000 cavalry to
his neighbour’s assistance and Husain then advanced to Shol-
apur, which place Ibrahim was besieging. Tu the battle
which ensued the armies of Ahmadnagar and Berar were on
the point of fleeing when Ibrahim Adil Shah was attacked by
doubts of the loyalty of Saif Ain-ul-Mulk, who commanded a
large body of his cavalry, and suddenly returned to Bijapur,
leaving the allies in possession of the field. Husain then
returned to Ahmadnagar and sent the cavalry of Berar back
to Ellichpur.
63..
After the death of Ibrahim Adu Shah I in 1557 Husain
Nizam Sliab persuaded Ibrahim Kutb
Shah of Golconda to join him in an
attempt to capture Gulbarga and the
Alliance with
Ahmaclnagai’.
5
66 AMRAOTl DISTRICT. HISTORY AND ARCHAEOLOGY
eastern districts of the Bijapur kingdom. The attempt failed
owing to Ibrahim Kutb Shah’s distrust of his ally, and All
Adil Shah, who had succeeded to the throne of Bijapur,
resolved to revenge himself on Husain Nixam Shah, who
sought strength in an alliance with Darya Imad Shah. In
1558 the kings of Berar and Ahmadnagar met.at Sonpet on the
Godavari where Daulat Shah Begam, Darya's daughter, was
married to Husain, Sonpet receiving the name of Ishratabad
in honour of the event.
63. Meanwhile All Adil Shah had formed an alliance with
Ibrahim Kutb Shah and Sadashivaraya
Al?mSna"gar! Vijayanagar and in 1560 these allies
invaded the dominions of Ahmadnagar.
Husain Nizam Shah’s trust lay in All Band Shah of Bldar,
Darya Imad Shah of Berar, and Miran Mubarak II of Khan-
desh. Unfortunately for him influences had been at work to
break up this alliance. The Khan-i-Jahan, brother of All
Band Shah, was friendly with All Adil Shah and had entered
the service of Darya Imad Shah, whom he dissuaded from
joining Husain Nizam Shah. He then led an army of 5,000
cavalry and infantry from Berar into the Ahmadnagar king,
dom and laid waste those northern tracts which lay out of the
way of the more powerful invaders from the south. Against
this force Husain Nizam Shah sent nearly 3,000 horse under
Mulla Muhammad Nishaburi. The army of Berar was
utterly defeated and the Khan-i-Jahan, ashamed to return to
Berar, joined the army of AH Adil Shah. Jahangir Khan the
Deccani now became commander-in-chief of the army of
Berar, and had an easier task than his predecessor, for by
this time the members of the southern alliance had closed
round Ahmadnagar and left Darya Imad Shah’s army little
occupation but that of plundering a defenceless country. The
allies, however, quarrelled. Ibrahim Kutb Shah, who had
gradually been drawn into sympathy with Husain Nizam
Shah, withdrew rapidly and secretly to Golconda, leaving
behind him a small force which joined Husain. Jahangir
Khan with the army of Berar also went over to Husain who
was enabled, by this accession of strength, to cut off the
HISTORY.
67
supplies of All Adil Shah and Sadashivaraya, who were besieg-
ing Ahmadnagar. Sadashivaraya, who perceived that he had
been drawn by All Adil Shah into no easy undertaking, was
now in a mood to entertain proposals of peace, and when
Husam Nizam Shah sued for peace he agreed to retire on
three conditions, one of which was that Jahangir Khan, whose
activity in intercepting the supplies of the besiegers had
caused much suffering among them, should be put to death,
Husain was base enough to comply and the commander of
the army of Berar was assassinated. Fortunately for Husain
his father-in-law was either too weak or too poor spirited to
resent this act of gross ingratitude, and the kingdom of
Ahmadnagar was by these shameful means, freed of its
invaders. Darya Imad Shah did not long survive his dis-
graceful acquiescence in his servant’s death. He died in 1561
and was succeeded by his son, Burhan Imad Shah.
64. We have no certain information of the age of Burhan
„ when he succeeded his father. He is
Burhan Imad Shah.
described as a boy or a young man,
but he was not too young to resent the murder of Jahangir
Khan, for when Husain Nizam Shah and Ibrahim Kutb Shah
invaded the territory of Bijapur in 1562 and All Adil Shah
and Sadashivaraya of Vijayanagar marched against them,
Durban not only refused to respond to Husain’s appeal for
assistance but prevented All Barld Shah of Bldar from join-
ing him. Husain Shah then abandoned the siege of Kaliyani,
in which he w'as engaged, and sent his ladies and heavy
baggage 10 Ausa. The kings of Ahmadnagar and Golconda
now found Ihcmseh'es opposed by Ah Adil Shah of PlTjapur,
Sadashivaraya of ^'!Ja5mnagar, All Barld Shah of Bldar, and
Burhan Imad Shah of Berar, and advanced to meet them,
halting within tw^elvc miles of their camp. On the following
day Husain and Ibrahim advanced againsi the enemy, the
former making the camp of Sadashivaraya and the latter ihat
of All Adil Shah, All Barid Shfih.and Burhan Imad Shah his
objective. When they were well on their way heavy rain fell,
and Husain’s artillery and elephants stuck fast in the mire.
Any further advance was out of the question, and hlusain
68 AMRAOTI DISTRICT, HISTORY AND ARCH/EOLOGY.
returned to his camp with only forty out of seven hundred
guns. Meanwhile Murtaza. Khan with the Maratha officers
of Bljapur had been sent by All Adil Shah to warn the allies
to prepare for battle. On his way he came upon the aban-
doned guns of Husain Nizam Shah, and learnt that Husain
had returned to his camp. Murtaza informed his master of
what he had found and All Adil Shah and Sadashivaraya
sent troops to take possession of the guns. After securing
the guns these troops fell in with the forces of Ibrahim Kutb
Shah, attacked them, and defeated them. Ibrahim reformed
his beaten army in rear of Husain Nizam Shah’s camp and
made a stand which enabled Husain Nizam Shah to come to
his aid. The troops of Bljapur and Vijayanagar were
repulsed, but Husain Nizam Shah was much dispirited by the
result of the day’s fighting and by Ibiahim’s failure, and on
the following da}’, when the armies of Bljapur, Vijayanagar,
Berar and Bldar advanced to the attack, he and Ibrahim
kutb Shah fled in the direction of Ahmadnagar, leaving their
camps in the hands of the enemy. At Ausa they separated,
Ibrahim returning to Golconda, whi'e Husain retired on his
capital, followed by the allies. Husain did not venture to
defend his capital but, having provisioned the fortress, fled
onwards to Junnar. When the allies sat down to besiege
Ahmadnagar the Hindus of Vijayanagar committed great
excesses, destroying mosques and other buildings and ravish-
ing Muhammadan women. All Adil Shah had good reason
to be ashamed of his allies, and thinking that a march would
give them less opportunity of misbehaving themselves than
the comparative leisure of a siege, persuaded Sadashivaraya
to leave Ahmadnagar and to pursue Husain Nizam Shah to
Junnar, but before the allies left Ahmadnagar Burhan Imad
Shah and All Barld Shah, disgusted with the insolence of the
Hindus, retired to their own kingdoms. On Burhan’s return
to Berar he was seized and imprisoned in Narnala by Tufal
Kh5n the Deccani, one of his own amm, who henceforth
exercised regal functions in Berar. Tufal Khan refused to
join the confederacy of the Muhammadan Sultans of the
Deccan which was formed in 1564 for the purpose of over-
HISTORY.
69
throwing the power of Vijayanagar and Berar had, therefore,
no share in the decisive victory of Talikota. Tufal Khan’s
refusal to join the Muhammadan league may be attributed to
his sense of the insecurity of his position as an 'usurper, to
apathy, to Hindu sympathies, or to the view that the power
of Vijayanagar could always be usefully employed for the
maintenance of the balance of power between the Muham-
madan kingdoms of the Deccan, but the refusal, whatever the
motive may have been, brought much trouble and suffering
to Berar.
65. In June, 1565, Husain Nizam JiShah died and was
^ „ _ succeeded in Ahmadnagar by his son,
Invasion or Berar. ^ ^
Murtaza Nizam Shah I, who persuad-
ed All Adil Shah to join him in invading Berar in order to
punish Tufal Khan for his refusal to join .the league against
Vijayanagar. The allies invaded the kingdom from the south
and south-west and devastated it with fire and sword as far
north as Ellichpur, destroying all standing crops. They
remained in Berar, wasting the country and slaughtering its
inhabitants until the approach of the rainy season, when
Tufal Khan approached Ah Add Shah with an enormous
quantity of treasure and besought him to use his influence to
induce Murtaza to retire. All undertook the task and
succeeded in persuading Murtaza, on the pretext that the
rams would render marching and campaigning on the blaclv
cotton soil of Berar a difficult task, to retiic to Ahmad-
nagar, while he himself returned to Bijapur.
66. The unfortunate little kingdom was not, however,
destined to enjoy a long rest. In 1572
Ber^r'by'Ahmttogi,,-. ChangU Khan, Muilaza Nizam Shah'=.
minister, brought about a [meeting be-
tween his master and Alt Add Shah at which the two kings
entered into a treaty under the terms of which Murtiiza was
to be allowed to annex Berar and Bldar without hindrance
from Bijapur while AlT was to be allowed to appropriate so
much of the dismembered kingdom of Vijayanagar as should
be equal in revenue to those two kingdoms. Ibrahim Kutb
Shah was left out of the arrangement. In the same year
70 AMRAOTI DISTRICT. tllSTORY AND ARCll^OLOGY.
Murtaza Nizam Shah, in pursuance of the treaty, encamped
at Pathri and prepared to invade Berar. A pretext was not
wanting. He sent Mulla Haidar of Kash to Tufal Khan to
call him to account for keeping Burhan Imad Shah in con-
finement. Tufal Khan was ordered to release his king, to be
obedient to him in all things, and to refrain from interfering
in the government of Berar. The letter concluded with a
threat that disobedience would entail punishment and with
three couplets warning Tufal Khan against undertaking
a task which was beyond his power. Tufal Khan was much
alarmed by this message and took counsel of his son,
Shamshir-ul-Mulk, who had a reputation for valour and was
astute enough to detect Murtaza’s object. The solicitude for
Burhan Imad Shah, he said, was a mere pretence, and
Murtaza’s object was the annexation of Berar to Ahmad-
nagar. lie bade his father take heart, assuring him that the
resources of Berar were equal to those of Ahmadnagar, which
was not the case, and advised him to send Murtaza’s envoy
back unanswered. Murtaza, as soon as he heard of Mulla
Haidar’s dismissal, marched from Pathri towards Ellichpur,
and Shamshlr-ul-Mulk, who commanded the advanced guard
of the army of Berar, marched to meet him. The site of the
battle is, unfortunately, not recorded, but the armies must
have met either in the Amraoti District or the Akola District.
Shamshlr-ul-Mulk fell upon the advanced guard of the army
of Ahmadnagar and defeated it. Changiz Khan threw for-
ward reinforcements and Shamshir-ul-Mulk called upon his
father for support. Tufal Khan at once marched to support
his son and Changiz Khan, being apprised of the approach of
the main body of the army of Berar, sent” forward Khuda-
wand Khan, Jamshid Khan, Bahri Khan, Rustam Khan, and
Chanda Khan to the support of the African atmrs of Ahmad-
nagar, on whom the brunt of the fighting was falling, and
followed them in person with Murtaza’s guards and three
thousand mounted ‘ foreign ’ archers, who were evidently
regarded as the flower of the army of Ahmadnagar, The
battle soon became general. Changiz Khan, who had as his
body-guard five hundred of his own followers, spared no
HISTORY.
7i
efforts to win the day. With his own hand he cut down
Tufal Khan’s standard bearer, and the army of Berar was
routed. Tufal Khan and his son fled to Ellichpur and
Changiz Khan returned with 270 captured elephants to the
camp of Murtaza Nizam Shah, who no longer made any
attempt to conceal the real object of his enterprise. He did
not hasten in pursuit of his defeated enemy or attempt to gather
at once the fruits of victory, but remained in his camp and issued
favmans to all the Hindu revenue officials of Berar informing
them that they had nothing to fear, and that if they would
tender their allegiance to him they would find him a lenient
and sympathetic master. The descendant of a line of Brah-
man patwaris knew with whom he had to deal. The heredi-
tary Hindu officials cared little for Burhan, Tufal, or Murtaza
but much for the blessings of peace, and they were not slow
to perceive which was the stronger side. They hastened to
the camp of the invader, where they were received with
honour and whence they were dismissed with rewards and
promises. Murtaza Nizam Shah, having thus made sure his
foothold, advanced on Ellichpur, whereupon Tufal Khan
and Shamshlr-ul-Mulk, whose power had been so utterly
broken in the field that the respite afforded to them by
Murtaza's delay had profited them nothing, fled into the
Melghat. Through the hills and jungles of this tract they
were pursued for six months at the end of which tunc they
found themselves hemmed in by the forces of Ahmadnagar in
a position whence no outlet was apparent. The invader
refrained from pressing his advantage and Tufal Khan succeed-
ed in extricating himself and escaped to Burhanpur. Murtaza,
having pursued hiin as far as the Tapti, sent a letter to Miran
Muhammad Shah II, king of Khandesh, threatening to invade
his country if the fugitives were harboured. Miran Muham-
mad sent the letter, without comment, to Tufal Khan, who
at once understood that he could find no asylum in Khandesh
and returned by an unfrequented road to Berar. At the same
time he sent a letter to Akbar, then seated on the throne of
Delhi, saying that he regarded himself as one of the emperor’s
soldiers and Berar as a province of the empire, which had
72 aMraoti district, history and ARCHJSOLOGY.
been invaded by the Deccanis. He sought, he said, the
appointment of warden of the marches and asked for assis-
tance, promising to surrender Berar to Akbar’s officers when
they should arrive. Akbar was not at this time prepared to
undertake an expedition to the Deccan and no immediate
answer was returned to Tufal Khan’s effusion. Meanwhile
both Tufal Khan and his son Shamshlr-ul-Mulk now separa-
ted were hard pressed by Murtaza and were fain to seek the
protection afforded by stone walls. Tufal Khan shut himself
up in Harnala while Shamshir-ul-Mulk sought refuge in
Gawllgarh, and Murtaza Nizam Shah laid siege to Narnala*
Meanwhile Tufal Khan’s letter had reached Akbar’s camp in
Gujarat and one of the emperor’s amirs wrote to Murtaza
Nizam Shah saying that Tufal Khan, having submitted to the
emperor, was one of his vassals and that Murtaza would do
well to desist from harassing him, and that Berar, which was
a province of the empire, should be evacuated at Once.
This absurdly bombastic message W'as treated with the con-
tempt which it deserved and both Narnala and Gawllgarh
were closely besieged. The former fell before the end of the
year, and Tufal Khan and Burhan I mad Shah fell into
Murtaza’s hands. Shamshir-ul-Mulk on hearing of the fall of
Narnala and the capture of his father surrendered Gawllgarh
to Murtaza’s officers on condition that his life should be
spared. Murtaza Nizam Shah sent Burhan Imad Shah, Tufal
Khan, Shamshir-ul-Mulk, and all their relatives and attend-
ants, to the number of about forty souls, to a fortress in the
Ahmadnagar kingdom where, after a short time, they all
perished. We have various accounts of the manner of their
death and in one passage it is hinted that they may possibly
have died a natural death, but the sudden, simultaneous, and
convenient extinction of so large a number of obnoxious
persons cannot have been fortuitous. Another story is that
the whole party was confined in a small room and the win-
dows were shut upon them, the result being a tragedy similar
in all respects to that of the Black Hole of Calcutta, save that
in this case there were no survivors. Elsewhere it is said
that the whole party was strangled or smothered individually.
III.ViOR\.
73
'Flic Black Hole story appears to be the most probable, bin
whichever story is true the fact remains that the Imiid Shahi
dynasty was utterly extinguished in 1572' and that Bciar
became a province of the Nizam Shahi kingdom of
Ahmadnagar.
67. Murtaza. apportioned the districts of Berar to his
nobles, and now wished to return to
orAhmadlSgaT Ahmadnagar and enjoy I he fruits of
victory, but Changiz Khan incited him
to further exei tions. All Add Shah, he said, was occupied with
the siege of Bankapur, and the opportunity of gaining
possession of Bidar, to which as well as to Berar, his treaty
with Bijapur entitled him, was too good to be lost. INIuitaza
was thus persuaded to march against Bidar, and while he
was thus employed affairs in Berar took a new* turn. Mirm
Muhammad II of Khandesh seized the opportunity of
harassing an inconveniently poiverful neighbour, and, as socn
as Murtaza Nizam Shah was engaged with Bidar, set up the
son of Burhan I mad Shah’s foster mother as king of Beiar
alleging that he was a son of Darya Imad Shah and sent the
pretender to the frontier of Berar with 6,000 horse. Alany
adherents of tlic extinct family either believed the fable or
were willing to adopt any pietext for maintaining the inde-
pendence of Beiiir, and rose in rebellion, driving the officers
of Murtaza Nizam Shah from their military posts. The
rebels numbered eight or nine thousand, and their activity
w^as a serious menace to the stability of the newly established
authority. Khudaw^and Khan and Khuishid Khan, the two
officers who had been appointed to administer Bcrtir, sent a
message to Murtaza Nizam Shah inploring him co return.
The king recalled Changiz Khan, wdio had preceded him to
Bidar, despatched Saiyid Murtaza Sabzawari w'ith 8,000
horse to Beriir and followed him ivith the main body of the
army. Changiz Khan returned from Bidar by forced marches
and begged the king to make a short halt in order that the
* There is a discrepancy as to this date. From the detailed account of
the siege of Narnala it appears that the fortress did not fall until 157-1,
but the date of its fall is also given in a chronogram ^^hieh works up
to y8a»1572 A.U,
74 AMkAOTi DISTRICT. HISTORY AND ARCHAEOLOGY.
troops might rest. Murtaza Nizam Shah refused to listen to
the proposal and pressed on. Miran Muhammad Shah, who
was hovering on the border of Berar, ready to make a descent
as soon as Murtaza Nizam Shah should be safely out of the
way, was much disconcerted by his adversary's activity and
fled in haste to his fortress capital of Asirgarh. The army
of Abmadnagar now invaded and laid waste Khandesh and
Asirgarh was on the point of falling into their hands when
Miran Muhammad Shah bought off Murtaza Nizam Shah
with a large sum of money. Murtaza Nizam Shah now
returned to Berar where, in the course of a complicated
intrigue connected with the invasion of Bidar, he poisoned
Changiz Khan in 1574. He then returned to Abmadnagar
and in 1575 appointed Saiyid Murtaza Sabzawari governor
of Berar. The new governor was assisted in his administra-
tion of the province by a large number of amirs, the chief of
whom were Khudawand Khan the muwallad,^ Jamshid
Khan, Bahri Khan Kazilbash, Rustam Khan the Deccani,
Chaghtai Khan the Turkman, Tir Andaz Khan Astrabadi,
Shir Khan Tarshizi, Husain Khan Tuni, Chanda Khan the
Deccani, and Dastur the eunuch.
68. In 1576 it was reported that Akbar was preparing to
invade the Deccan. Murtaza Nizam
Rumours of 1 ^
invasion from the bhah, now Sunk m sloth and debau-
‘^hery, made a feeble and confused
effort to take the field. He was better served in Berar than
he deserved. Bahram Khan, who was commandant of
Gawllgarh under Saiyid Murtaza Sabzawari, put the fortress
into a state of thorough repair and has left a record of his
zeal in an inscription on the bastion which bears his name.
The chronogram in the inscription gives the date A.H. 985
equivalent to A.D. 1577. Fortunately these precautions
were unnecessary, for Akbar’s journey was no more than a
trip from Agra to Ajmer and back, and Abmadnagar and'
Berar were left for a time in peace. The rumour of danger
from the north had, however, galvanized the wretched
* Le., a man of foreign descent born in the Deccan of an Indian
mother.
biSTORY.
7^
Murtaza Nizam Shah into something like activity, and
early in 1578 Saiyid Murtaza Sabzawari was summoned
to Ahraadnagar in order that he might parade the army
of Berar before the king. This effort to secure military
efficiency in the frontier province had most unfortunate
results. Murtaza Nizam Shah’s unworthy favourite Sahib
Khan, a Deccani, grossly insulted one of the foreign officers
of the army of Berar, with the result that the old quarrel
between the foreigners on one side and the jDeccanis and
the Africans on the other was renewed. A fight followed
in which the king identified himself with the Deccanis,
whereupon most of the foreign officers left his service and
entered that of Golconda and Bijapur. In the confusion
which followed Salabat Khan grasped the reins of govern-
ment and Murtaza Nizam Shah was left powerless. He
attempted to recover possession of Sahib Khan and
bespoke the good offices of Saiyid Murtaza Sabzawari to this
end, but the Saiyid was unable, and probably unwilling to
save the wretch and Sahib Khan was ultimately slain by
Khudawand Khan, one of the amtrs of Berar. Salabat Khan
was now regent of Ahmadnagar and Saiyid Murtaza Sabza-
wari retained the governorship of Berar. In 1584 Salabat
Khan sent an order to Jamshld Khan Shlrazi, who has been
already mentioned as one of Saiyid Murtaza’s officers,
directing him to join an embassy which was about to leave
Ahmadnagar for Bijapur, As the order had not been counter-
signed by Murtaza Nizam Shah, Jamshld Khan replied that
he could not obey it without the sanction of his superior
officer, Saiyid Murtaza. The latter was much annoyed by
Salabat Khan’s assumption of the right 'to communicate an
order to Jamshld direct, and refused to permit Jamshld to
leave his post in Berar. The quarrel reached such a point
that Saiyid Murtaza Sabzawari assembled the army of Berar
and marched towards Ahmadnagar with the intention of over-
throwing Salabat Khan, but the^wlrsat the capital intervened
and brought about a temporary peace, and Saiyid Murtaza
returned to Berar. Towards the end of the same year the
auarrel was renewed and Saiyid Murtaza of Berar again
yS aMraoti district, history and arch.eologv.
marched on Ahmadnagar. Salabat Khan advanced to meet
him, defeated him, and pursued him through Berar, and
Saiyid Murtaza. and his lieutenant fled by way of Burhanpur
to the court of Akbar. Meanwhile Shahzada Burhan, a
brother of Murtaza Nizam Shah, had been persuaded by a
party in Ahmadnagar to make an attempt to dethrone
Murtaza and seize the throne. The plot was frustrated by
Salabat Khan and Burhan was forced to flee in the guise of
a darvcsh to the Konkan whence he reached Gujarat and
joined Akbar s court.
69, Akbar now resolved to attempt the conquest of the
Deccan and ordered his foster-brother,
Mughal raid on Berar. ... _ . _ . »
MirzaAziz Kuka entitled Khan-i-Azam,
who was then governor of Malwa, to assemble the army of
Malwa and march against Ahmadnagar, taking Burhan with
him. Salabat Khan replied by sending 20,000 horse to
Burhanpur. Mirza Muhammad Taki who commanded this
force, succeeded in attaching Raja All Khan of Khandesh to
the cause of Ahmadnagar despite an attempt by the Kh§a-i-
Azam to secure his adherence to the imperial cause. The
Khan-i-Azam’s expedition was delayed by a quarrel between
him and Shahab-ud-din Ahmad Khan, the governor of Ujjain
and Mirza Muhammad Takt and Raja All Khan carried the
war into the enemy’s country and encamped over against the
Khan-i-Azam at Handia. The Khan-i-Azam was unwilling
to risk a battle, but by a rapid night march eluded the Dec-
cams and entered Berar by a circuitous route. The Mughal
horse plundered Eliicbpur, hastened thence to Balapur, and
before the Deccanis, who had turned back from Handia to
meet them, could come up with them, retreated by way of
Nandarbar into Malwa. Raja All Khan then returned to
Burhanpur and Mirza Muhammad TakI to Ahmadnagar.
Akbar did not at once pursue his project of adding the Deccan
to his empire and Berar had peace for a few years.
70. In June, 1588, Murtaza Nizam Shah, who had
attempted to destroy his son Miraii
Nizam Sliah. Husain by setting fire to his bed-
ding, was, in Return, suffocated in his
HISTORY.
77
bath by the prince, ^Yho succeeded him as Husain Nizam
Shah II. Husain II was put to death after a reign of less
than two months and the amirs of Ahmadnagar raised to the
throne Ismail, the son of the fugitive Burhan. Jamal Khan,
who had been one of Saiyid Murtaza’s lieutenants in Berar,
was now regent in Ahmadnagar. He belonged to the
heretical sect of the Mahdavis and in the name of Ismail
Nizam Shah, who was too young to understand theological
disputes, established their religion in Ahmadnagar with the
result that the kingdom became a refuge for most of the
Mahdavis throughout India. The amirs of Berar were much
annoyed by the spread of the heresy and in 1589 released
Salabat Khan, who had been imprisoned by Murtaza Nizam
Shah in Kherla, and induced him to lead them against
Ahmadnagar, while Ibrahim Adil Shah II of Bljapur invaded
the kingdom from the south. Jamal Khan defeated the amirs
of Berar at Paithan on the Godavari, then the southern
boundary of the Province, and the Bijapurls at AshtI,
Salabat Khan made bis peace with Jamal Khan and returned
to his jagir to die.
yi. In 1590 the time was ripe for the invasion of Berar
„ and the Deccan by Akbar. The amirs
Burhan’s first attempt /r ^ j j j- w. j
to gain his kingdom. of Berar were disaffected and disgusted
with the heterodox doctrines now
fashionable at the court of Ahmadnagar and the elevation to
the throne of the young Ismail, the son of the emperor s
protege Burhan, furnished Akbar with a pretext for aggression.
He offered Burhan as many troops as he should consider
necessary for the put pose of gaining the throne of his ances-
tors, now unjustly held by his son, but Burhan had no desire
to reign at Ahmadnagar as Akbar’s puppet and declined the
proffered aid. Akbar then bestowed upon him the pargana
of TIandia in jagir and gave him letters to Raja All Khan
of Khandesh, who was ordered to render him all the assistance
in bis power. Burhan took up his quarters at Handia and
issued letters to the principal officers and landholders of
Berar and the rest of the Ahmadnagar kingdom reminding
them that he was their lawful king and exhorting them to
78 AMRAOTI DISTRICT. HISTORY AND ARCH.^:OLOGV.
be faithful to him. These letters were well received and
Burhan received many assurances of loyalty and offers
of assistance, including one from Jahangir Khan the
African, warden of the northern marches of Berar.
Burhan now entered Berar, with a small force of
horse and foot which he had collected, by way of the
Melghat, but Jahangir Khan had repented of his promise, and
attacked and defeated the small army, forcing Burhan to
retire to Handia in great disorder. From Handia he went
to Burhanpur where he sought assistance from Raja All Khan
who received him kindly and not only promised him aid but
invoked the aid of Ibrahim Adil Shah II of Bijapur who,
smarting under the recent defeat of his forces by Jamal Khan,
readily sent an army northwards. Jamal Khan again defeat-
ed the Bijapurls but had not recovered from the fatigues of
the fight when he heard that the nobles of Berar had
declared for Burhan, who was on the point of entering Berar.
The story of the campaign which followed need not be
recounted in detail here. Burhan and Raja All Khan
defeated and slew Jamal Khan at Rohankhed m the Buldana
District and captured the young Ismail. The whilom proteg6
of Akbar now ascended the throne of Ahmadnagar as
Burhan Nizam Shah II, and appointed Nur Khan governor
of Berar.
72. Burhan died on April 29th, 1595, after a troubled reign
of rather more than four years, and
^ to Ahraadnagar‘^^‘* succeeded by his elder son Ibrahim
Nizam Shah, who had been previously
passed over in favour of his younger brother Ismail on the
score that his mother was a negress and his personal appear-
ance unkingly, The affairs of the State were now in the
utmost confusion. Rival factions contended at the council
board while Ibrahim Adil Shah on the south and Akbar on
the north prepared to invade the kingdom. Ibrahim Nizam
Shah after a reign of less than four months was slain in battle
with the Bijapurls, and a faction attempted to raise to the
throne Ahmad, son of Shah Tahir, who had pretended to be the
HISTORY.
79
son of Sultan Muhammad Khudawand, one of the sons of
Burhan Nizam Shah I. But the circumstances of Shah
Tahir's birth had already been secretly investigated, and there
were those at the capital who knew the details of the inquiry
and published them. Nevertheless the impostor’s faction held
the field for a time, and when they were hard pressed in
Ahmrtdnagar they sent a message to Sultan Murad, Akbar’s
fourth son, and implored him to come from Gujarat to their
aid. Murad had a general commission from his father to
attempt the conquest of Berar and Ahmadnagar whenever the
time should seem propitious and at once made preparations
to invade the Deccan. Meanwhile, however, an unexpected
quarrel in the camp of those who opposed the impostor’s
claims enabled Miyan Manjhu, his chief supporter, to emerge
from Ahmadnagar and attack them. He defeated them on
October ist, 1595, and, deeming himself now strong enough
to dispense with foreign aid, began to regret his invitation to
Murad. Murad, however, was already on his way and wlien
he reached the borders of the Ahmadnagar kingdom with the
Khan-i-Khanan, Abdur Rahim and Raja All Khan of
Khandesh, Miyan Manjhu leaving Ansar Khan, in whose
charge was Chand BibI, in command of Ahmadnagar, fled
with his prot6g6 Ahmad to Ausa, where he attempted to
raise an army and to enlist the aid of Ibrahim Adil Shah II
and Muhammad Kull Kutb Shah of Golconda,
73. Chand Bibl soon asserted her supremacy in Ahmadna-
gar and had Bahadur, the infant son of
Cession^of^Beiar to Ibrahim Nizam Shah, proclaimed king
in place of the impostor "set up by
Miyan Manjhu. The imperial army meanwhile closely be-
sieged Ahmadnagar, and though Sultan Murad did not succeed
incapturing the city he was only bought off by a treaty of
peace concluded in April, 1596, one of the conditions of -which
was the cession of Berar to the empire. On the conclusion
of peace Murad occupied Berar which thus became once
more, after the lapse of two centuries and a half, an appanage
of the crown of Delhi. After the withdrawal of the imperial
8 o AMRAOTI DISTRICT, HISTORY AND ARCH^0L06V,
army Bahadur Nizam Shah was seated on the throne of
Ahmadnagar while the pretender Ahmad was provided for
by the Sultan of Bijapur.
During the early days of the Mughal occupation of Berar
the old capital, Ellichpur, lost some of its importance. In
the first place its distance from the Ahmadnagar frontier and
from the high road between Hindustan and the Deccan,
which ran through the western corner of Berar, rendered its
selection as a military capital impossible, and in the second
although Berar had been ceded to the empire by treaty the
fortresses of Gawllgarh and Narnala were held by amirs of
Ahmadnagar and the slothful Murad was not anxious to
besiege them. He therefore made Balapur his principal
military post, and built himself a palace at a village about
twelve miles west of that town,
74. Hostilities with Ahmadnagar were renewed by an
attempt to seize Pathri, and on
Kf AhtSniS.'* February 8th, 1597, the Khan-i Khanan
was defeated at Sonpet on the Goda-
vari by the troops of Ahmadnagar aided by contingents from
Bijapur and Golconda. On the following day, however,
he retrieved his defeat and put the allied Deccanis to flight:
Having returned to Jalna, his headquarters, the Khan-i-
Khanan ordered the despatch of troops to Gawllgarh and
Narnala, but Murad now interfered, and announced his inten-
tion of taking the field against Ahmadnagar, and when the
Khan-i-Khanan insisted that the fortresses of Northern Berar
should first be reduced Murad wrote to his father and com-
plained of the Khan-i-Khanaa’s apathy. In 1598 that officer
was recalled and Abul Fazl was sent to the Deccan in his
place with orders to reduce Gawllgarh and Narnala, which
duty he carried out. He failed, however, to send aid to the
Mughal governor of Bir who, having been defeated and
wounded in the field, was besieged in that fortress, and report-
ed to Akbar Abul Fazl’s failure to come to his aid. Akbar
now recognised that the only officer capable of managing
affairs in the Deccan was the Khan-i-Khanan, whose only
HISTORY.
8t
fault was his intolerance of the slothful and drunken Murad,
The difficulty was solved by the death of Murad in 1599 at
Shahpur, his palace near Balapur, from the effects of drink and
incontinence, Sultan Daniyal, Akbar’s youngest son, was now
sent to the Deccan under the tutelage of the Khan-i-Khanan.
In the same year (1599) Ahmadnagar was captured by the
Khan-i-Khanan and Asirgarh by Akbar and Sultan Daniyal
became governor of Khandesh—now renamed Dandesh— -
Berar and Ahmadnagar.
75. A detailed account of Berar was added to the Ain-i-
...... Akbarl in 1596-97, immediately after
The Am-I-Akban. ,
the treaty of Ahmadnagar under which
the province was ceded to the empire, and as the Mughal
officers cannot have had time, before the account was written,
to settle the province and readjust boundaries of its adminis-
trative divisions we may regard this description as an account
of the province as it was administered by the Nizam Shahi
and I mad Shahi kings, and probably also by the Bahmanids.
It was divided into thirteen sarkars, or revenue districts, of
which the largest and richest %vas Gawil, which contained
forty-four parganas and corresponded roughly with the
Amraoti District. Some of its parganas lay beyond the
present limits of the District, s.g., Sirson (Murtizapur),
Mana, Karanja BibI, Manba, Papal and Kamargaon, now
ip the Akola District, Ner Parsopant in the Yeotmal District,
and ArvI and AshtI in the Central Provinces. The District
was assessed at rather more than 28 lakhs of land revenue
and 2| lakhs of suyavghal or assignments for the pay of
troops. Amraoti, not being a pargana town, is not mentioned.
Ellichpur is described as ‘ a large city and the capital ’ and
Gawilgarh as ‘a fortress of almost matchless strength’
containing a spring at which weapons of steel were watered.
Against two of the parganas of the Melghat we find such
entries as ‘100 cavalry,' 2,000 infantry — Gonds,’ which indi-
cate that the Korkus of the Melghat, described by Abul Pazl
as by the Deccani historian and by British adminisirators of
a later day as ‘ Gonds,’ were duly assessed for military
ser\ ice.
6
82 AMRAOTI DISTRICT. HISTORY AND ARCHAEOLOGY.
76. After the imprisonment of Bahadur Nizam Shah i.n
Malik Ambar. Gwalior in 1599, Malik Ambar the
African, the most powerful remaining
adherent of the Nizam Shahi dynasty, raised to the throne
Murtaza Nizam Shah, the son of Shah All, one of the sons
of Burhan I., and established him in the fortress of Ausa. It
is unnecessary to pursue through all its details the story of
the long conflict which Ambar carried on with the amirs of
the empire, but reference will be made to the struggle so far
as it affected the Amraoti District.
In 1605 Sultan Daniyal died of drink in Burhanpur and in
October of the same year Akbar died and was succeeded by
his eldest son, Salim, who assumed the title of Jahangir,
In 1610 Malik Ambar recaptured Ahraadnagar, which had
been held for the emperor by Khaja Beg Mirza Saffavl, and
overran nearly the whole of Berar which for the greater part
of Jahangir’s reign was more often in the hands of Malik
Ambar than in those of the imperial officers. So far as the
land revenue was concerned the administration was probably
do-amli each party collecting what it could, but the Mughals
regarded Burhanpur as their chief stronghold in the Deccan,
and though a military post was usually maintained at Balapur
their hold in Berar can have been but slight. In 1617 Sultan
Khurram, Jahangir’s third son, was appointed to the command
of the troops in the Deccan, and on the arrival of this energetic
prince the imperial cause revived and the Mughals strength-
ened their hold on Berar. Sultan Khurram was recalled
later in the year and received the title of Shahjahan.
77. In 1620 Malik Ambar drove the Mughals from Berar
„ ... . , and occupied not only that Province
Malik Ambar occu- 1 . j 1 , .
pies Berar nnt JAnandesh also, Shahjahan was
now sent to Burhanpur with a large
force. He relieved that city, which was beleaguered by the
Deccanis and drove the latter through Berar, pursuing them
as far as KhirkP which place he laid waste after defeating
Afterwards named Aurangabild,
HISTORY.
83
EMalik Ambar in the field. Berar was thus once more in the
hands of the Mughals. In 1622 Shahjahan rebelled against
his father, drawing into rebellion with him Darab Khan, the
governor of Berar. After extensive operations in Hindustan
and Gujarat the prince was pursued by his brother Parvez
through Berar to Mahur, whence he fled to Golconda. The
Deccanis, in spite of Shahjahan’s rebellion, effected no lodg-
ment in Berar, which remained in the hands of Parvez, who
appointed Asad Khan Mamurl governor of Ellichpur. In
1624, however, Yakut Khan the African marched through
Berar and besieged Burhanpur, but fled when he heard of the
approach of the Khan-i-Khanan and Parvez who had been
temporarily transferred to Bengal in consequence of Shah-
jahan’s appearance in arms in that Province.
78. In 1625 Shahjahan submitted to his father and was
pardoned, and in 1626 Parvez, now
"^Khgn-TJahln!^^^ governor of Berar and the Deccan,
died in Burhanpur of colic and epilepsy
brought on by excessive di inking. In the same year Malik
Ambar died, in the eightieth year of his age, and his place was
taken by his son Fateh Khan. Later in the same year
Umdat-ul-Mulk Khan-i-Jahan, who had been sent to the
Deccan in consequence of the renewed activity of Murtaza
Nizam Shah and Fateh Khan, sold the Balaghat of Berar to
the Deccanis for twelve lakhs of rupees. This treasonable
bargain did not directly affect the Amraoti District, but it
must have thrown ilie affairs of the whole province into great
confusion.
Jahangir died on November qih, 1627, and in ihe cour=e
of the ensuing disputes regarding the succession, the affairs of
the Deccan fell into great confusion, and between the Khan-
i Jahan, who was plotting with the enemy entirely for his own
hand and other imperial officers who favoured the cause of
Shahiyar, Shahjahan’.s youngest brother, the fortunes of the
IMughals in Berar and the Deccan were at a veiy low
ebb.
8^ AMRAOTI DISTRICT. HISTORY AND ARCFLROLOGY.
79, Shahjahan ascended the imperial throne in Agra on
February 15th' 1628, and was thereafter
^ShSb^'ahan^ attend to the affairs of the
empire. At the beginning of his reign
the Khan-i*Jahan was still governor of Berar and Khandesh,
but his bargain with the Deccanis was disturbed for the
odicers of Murtaza Nizam Shah evacuated the Balaghat in
obedience to an imperial fayinan^ The Nizam Shahi comman*
dant of Blr alone held out and the Khan-i-Zaman was sent
against him. When this officer advanced Murtaza Nizam
Shah sent a force of 6,000 Maratha horse under SahiijI
Bhonsla to threaten his line of communication wdth Burhan-
pur and this force operated in the northern taluks of the
Amraoti and Akola Districts and in Khandesh. Unfortu-
nately for the schemes of the Deccanis the commandant
of Blr surrendered, and Darya the Rohilla, who held a
jagir in the Amraoti District, fell upon Sahuji’s Maratha
horse and dispersed them. The Khan-i-Jahan was now
summoned to court and deprived of his title, whereupon he
fled to the Deccan and entered the service of Murtazg,
Nizam Shah and on Murtaza refusing to surrender him
Shahjahan set out for the Deccan at the end of 1629, reach-
ing Burhanpur early in 1630, where he was joined by
Iradat Khan who had been appointed governor of Berar,
Khandesh, and the Deccan in the place of the disgraced
Khan-i-Jahan. In the campaign which followed Shahjahan’s
arrival at Burhanpur the Deccanis were driven from the
Balaghat of Berar which they had again occupied, but it
does not appear that the Amraoti District was the scene
of hostilities unless the village of Talegaon, which was cap-
tured and burnt by the Deccanis, were Talegaon Dashasar.
The war lasted until the fall of Daulatabad in 1633, but the
Mughals had now advanced well into the Deccan and though
the Amraoti District, with the rest of Berar, suffered severely
from demands for supplies for the forces in the field it was
freed from the curse of war within its borders.
^ So the PMishah-nama. The Muntafihab-ttl-lubab has February
14th and the Tuzak-t-JabaiigJri March 5th,
HISTORY,
So, In 1630 the rams failed completely in Berar and the
„ . Deccan and partially elsewhere, and
Fciininc.
this calamity, combined with the heavy
tax which the war had placed upon the tracts which it most
affected, produced one of the most severe famines ever known
in Berar. ‘ Buyers were ready to give a life for a loaf, but
seller was there none. The flesh of dogs was sold as that of
goats and the bones of the dead were ground with the flour
SDld in the market, and the punishment of those who
profited by this traffic produced yet direr results, men
devoured one another and came to regard the flesh of their
children as sweeter than their love. The inhabitants fled afar
to other tracts till the corpses of those who fell by the way
impeded those who came after and in the lands of Berar,
which had been famous for their fertility and prosperity, no
trace of habitation remained.’ This account, taken from the
official record of Shahjahan’s reign, is obviously hyperbolical,
but cannot be dismissed as entirely imaginary. Berar had
suffered much from protracted hostilities during which it had
been the prey of hostile armies which had little respect for the
rights of property, and the measures of relief undertaken were
utterly inadequate.
81. On November 27th, 1634, Shahjahan issued a favmm
reorganizing his territories in the
Redistribution of Deccan. Hitherto the three subah of
Deccan provinces.
Khandesh, Berar, and the conquered
districts of Nizam Shahi dominions had formed a province
under one provincial governor, whose headquarters were usually
at Biuhanpur. Under Shtihjahrin’s redistribution scheme those
parganas oi ilic sai'kar of llandia which lay to the soutn
oi the Ncrbudd'i were transferred fiomMahva to Khandesh and
Berfir. Khnndcsh, and the distncls taken from Aliinadnagar,
were formed into two s-lbahs or dnisions, the Balaghat on tlic
south and the PfiyanghaL on the north. This arrangement
dismembered, for a time, the old province of Berar, for the line
dividing the two new swabs followed the line of the edge of the
plateau of tlie Balagliat, running, approximately, from Rohan-
khed on the west to Sawargaonon the Wardha river, on the cast.
86 AMRAOTI DISTRICT. HISTORY AND ARCHAEOLOGY.
The Amraoti District was thus included in the Payanghat
division, the sTihahdav of which was the Khan-i-Dauran, while
Sipahdar Khan, a valiant soldier, was subordinate to him at
Ellichpur.
82. This scheme of reorganization was very soon;amended.
The Deccan provinces 1636 Shahjahan appointed his third
a^^ain redistributed. con, Aurangzeb, to the viceroyalty of
Aurangzeb. , -r. , r
the Deccan, where the possessions of
the empire were redistributed into four subahs or divisions — (i)
Daulatabad and Ahmadnagar, the nominal capital of which was
Daulatabad, while Aurangzeb resided at Khirki, which he re-
named Aurangabad, (2) Telingana which included those tracts
of north-western Telingana, which had been annexed to the
empire, (3) Khandesh, the administrative capital of which was
Burhanpur, while its principal military post was Asirgarh, and
(4) Berar, the capital of which was Ellichpur, ‘ in the'neigh-
bourhood of which lay the fortress of Gawll, situated on the
crest of a hill and noted for its great strength.’ Each of these
divisions was governed by a suhahddv in immediate][subordina-
tion to Aurangzeb as viceroy, and the Khan-i-Dauran was
retained as suhahddr of Berar, with Sipahdar Khan as deputy
governor in Ellichpur.
83. In 1637 Khan-i-Dauran with Sipahdar Khan and
Campaign in undertook an
Golconda and expedition through the northern district
Gondwana. kingdom of Golconda, where
they collected tribute'and thence they marched [through, the
savkai' of Paunar to besiege Nagpur, which was held for
Kokiya, the Gond ruler of Deogarh. The army of Berar was
joined by Klba, the Gond ruler of Chanda and Nagpur was
taken. It was probably at'this time that the savkdy of Deogarh
was added to the province of Berar.
In 1642 Shah Beg Khan, a commander of 4,000 horse, was
appointed sUhahddr of Berar in place of the Khan-i-Dauran
and two years later Allah VardI Khan was made a commander
of 5,000 horse and received Ellichpur in jagir on the death
of Sipahdar Khan.
HISTORY.
87
84. Early in 165S Aurangzeb left the Deccan in order to
Accession of Aurang- Participate in the contest for the iniper-
zeb and siege of Gol- ial throne which ensued on the failure
conda
of Shahjahan’s health, and in 1659
having worsted his competitors he gained the prize. He
appointed Raja Jai Singh to the vicerojalty of the Deccan and
made Irij Khan sTibahdar of Berar. In 1675 Irij Khan was
removed to make way for the Khan-i-Zaraan, but 'in the
following year he was reappointed suhahddy of the province.
In 1680 Sambhaji, the son of Shivajl, overran Berar and
did much damage, especially to the standing crops, and after
passing through Berar he plundered Burhanpur and burnt
seventeen of its suburbs in the short period of four days which
elapsed before he was driven off.
In 1685 Inj Khan died and Husain All Khan was appoint-
ed to succeed him as sTibahddr of Berar. He governed the
province through a deputy, Razl-ud-din Khan, who died m
1686 and was succeeded by Muhammad Momin Khan, a rela-
tive of Inj Khan. In the same year Husain Ali Khan died
and Mahabat Khan was appointed subahdav of Berar in his
place, Muhammad Sadik being appointed his deputy. Husain
All Khan’s unexpected death was a misfortune for the province
for he is mentioned as one who excelled his fellows in valour
and leadership, and as a well-wisher of the people, a speaker
of the truth and an upright man. Such men were not common
in the Deccan in the days in which he lived.
In the same year, while the siege of Golconda was in
progress, Berar was called upon to supply material of war and
cattle. In 1687, after the fall of Golconda, Aurangzeb ap-
pointed his youngest son, Muhammad Kam Bakhsh, sUbaJtday
of Berar. At some time after this the prince was relieved of
his appointment, for towards the end of 1697 he was again
appointed to the governorship and Mirak Husain was appoint-
ed as his deputy. In 1698 Askar Ali Khan the Hyderabad!
was appointed subaMdr in place of the prince.
85, In 1699 Riijaram, who, since the death of his brother
Mai'.itha raids. Sambhaji, had been conimually a fugi-
tive from the imperial troops, collec'ed
88 AMRAOTI DISTRICT. HISTORY AND ARCHEOLOGY.
a large army and appeared in Berarwith the avowed inten-
tion of conquering the province. His troops, after the fashion
of Maratha armies, laid the country waste and destroyed towns
and villages, and he succeeded in enlisting the aid of Bakht
Buland, the Gond raja of Deogarh, who notwithstanding his
acceptance of Islam, was but a lukewarm adherent of Aurangzeb,
Bedar Bakht, the eldest son of prince Muhammad Azam, was
sent against the disturbers of the peace, and drove them from
Berar.
In 1702 Lutf-ullah Khan was appointed suhahdav of Berar
with Ghazi-ud-din Khan Firoz Jang, father of Asaf Jah, as
his deputy, but Lutf-ullah died before he could reach Ellich-
pur and the deputy succeeded as sTihahdar and Sarandaz Khan
was appointed deputy. The latter was removed in 1703 and
Rustam Khan, who held the post until the end of Aurangzeb’s
reign, was appointed in his place. In 1704 the Marathas
were again active in Berar and Firoz Jang marched north-
wards from Ellichpur in pursuit of Nima Sindhia.
86. On March 4th, 1707, Aurangzeb died at Ahmadnagar
and was shortly afterwards buried at
BjdSdursMh. Rauza, afterwards called Khuldabad,
near the caves of Ellora and about
seven miles from Daulatabad. The usual conflict for the
throne followed the death of the emperor and victory finally
declared for Shah Alam, the eldest surviving son, who
ascended the throne under the title of Bahadur Shah.
Firoz Jang at first held Berar for prince Muhammad
Azam by whom he was transferred, as sUbahddr^ to the Prov-
ince of Gujarat, but the cautious amir was a lukewarm part-
isan and readily made his peace with Bahadur Shah who
confirmed him in his appointment in Gujarat.
Towards the end of 1707 Zul-fikar Khan Nusrat Jang was
viceroy of the whole of the Deccan, and it was now that the
officers of the imperip,! army first began to enter into regular
agreements with the Marathas -for the payment of the black-
mail known as chouth and sardeshtimkhu
HISTORY.
Bg
87. Bahadur Shah died in 1712 and was succeeded by his
. . , eldest son, Muizzuddin who took the
Accession or
Farrukhsiyar. title of Jahaudar Shah. On his death the
two Saiyid brothers of Barha, who weie
now all-powerful at Delhi, raised to the throne Farrukhsiyar.
It was in his reign, in 1718, that the imperial court first
disgraced itself by formally acknowledging the claim of the
Marathas to cltatdh and sardeshmthln. In consideration for
refraining from ravaging Berar and the other five sulahs of the
Deccan these freebooters were to be allowed to collect for
themselves one-quarter of the revenue under the name of
chauth and in addition to this a further proportion of one-tenth
under the name of sardeshmu'kht, which was regarded as a
recompense for the trouble and expense of collecting the
chauth. It was the imperial recognition of these claims which
laid the foundation of that system of government known as
do-amli, afterwards to prove so ruinous to Berar, which has
been admirably described by Sir Alfred Lyall: ‘Wherever the
‘ emperor appointed a jdgirddy the Marathas appointed another
‘ and both claimed the revenue while foragers from each side
‘ exacted forced contributions so that the harassed cultivator
‘often threw up his land and helped to plunder his neighbour.’
88, It is not necessary to follow in detail the course of the
Plots of the Saiyids and intrigues of the Saiyid brothers at
accession of Muham- Delhi. After deposing Farrukhsiyar
mad Shah.
and setting up two nonentities to suc-
ceed him, they raised to the throne in 1719 Raushan Akhtar,
who took the title of Muhammad Shah. In 1720 they hatched
a plot against Asaf Jah Nizam-ul-Mulk, son of Ghazi-ud-din
Firoz Jang; and sent him as sTibahddv to Malwa in the
hope that he would either be disgraced in the vain attempt
to quell the disturbances which they fomented against
him or would rebel. To their disappointment he was
joined by all the men of importance in Malwa and also by his
uncle Iwaz Khan, sTibahddr of Berar. Alain All Khan, the
nephew of the Saiyids, who was viceroy of the Deccan, now
appointed Anwar Khan suhahdav of Berar but he too joined
Asaf Jah, The plot of the Saiyids failed. Asaf Jah met their
ga AMkAOll bIbTRiCT. ttlbTORY AND ARCIIA:oLo6V.
nephew, Alam Ali Khan, at Balapur and there defeated and
slew him. He then returned to Delhi and was appointed
sTibaMay of Gujarat while his son Gliazi-ud-din Khan Firoz
Jang was appointed to Malwa. In 1722 he received news
that his Province of Gujarat and his son’s Province of Malwa
were overrun by the Marathas, and he therefore obtained
permission to leave Delhi for the purpose of expelling the
intruders. While he was setting the affairs of Malwa in
order he learnt that Mubariz Khan the suhaMar of Hyderabad,
whom he had believed to be devoted to his interests, had
been bribed by the Saiyids with the promise of the viceroyalty
of the Deccan to take up arms against him and was even then
marching to meet him At the same lime he heard that Ins
son Firoz Jang, who held the post of prime minister of the
empiie as his deputy, had been superseded in Delhi.
89. He therefore set out for the Deccan to meet Mubanz
, „ , , Khan, whom he defeated and slew
Asaf Jah obtains the , , , , , ,
Viccioyalty of the at Shakarlchelda ' in the Buldana
Deccan District on October 13th, 1724. The
date is an impoitant one in the history of Ber&r and the
Deccan for the battle of Shakarkhelda established the virtual
independence of the Deccan under the Nizams of Hyder-
abad Neither Chin Kilij Khan Nizam-ul-Mulk nor any
of his successors at Hyderabad ever assumed the style of
independent sovereigns, but they settled questions of succes-
sion among themselves, made all appointments in the six mbahs
of the Deccan and behaved in all respects as independent
rulers with the exception that their coin bore the name of the
reigning emperor and that the imperial recognition of each
succession was purchased by large presents and professions
of subservience. Shortly after, if not before, the death of Asaf
Jah the Bhonsla rajas of Nagpur were recognized as mokasa-
rfiirj or assignees of the Marathas’ share of the revenues of
Eerar, and they maintained their collecting officers in the
province under the do-amll system already described until
the conclusion of the second Maratha war m 1803.
» Renamed Fatehkhelda by Asaf dab to commemorate his victory.
HISTORY.
In 1738 RaghujI Bhonsla took advantage of the absence of
Asaf Jah in Delhi to invade Berar, and defeated and slew
Shujat Khan the suhahdar in the neighbourhood of Ellichpur.
It was probably at this time that the fortresses of Gawilgarh
and Narnala, which were held by the Bhonslas, except for a
short period, until the end of the third Maratl a war, passed
into his possession.
go. On June 2nd, 174P, Asaf Jah died on the bank
„ . of the Tapti liver on his way from
Disputes legal ding the _ •'
succession in Burbanpul to Daulatabad, and was
Hydeiabad succeeded m the Deccan by his son
Nasir Jang. In 1750 Nasir Jang was succeeded by his
brother Salabat Jang who on the death of Saiyid Sharif
Khan Shujat Jang in June, 1752, appointed Saiyid Lashkar
Khan Nasir Jang to the vacant appointment of sTibahddv of
Berar. In the same year Ghazi-ud-din Khan, the eldest son
of Asaf Jah, having been appointed by the emperor Alimad
Shah viceroy of the Deccan, advanced as far as Aurangabad
to secure his heritage, but in Aurangabad he died suddenly,
from cholera according to one account, but according to
another from poison administered by or at the instance of
Salabat Jang’s mother. Salabat Jang spent the rainy season
of 1 753 in Aurangabad where Saiyid Dashkar Khan sTtbiihdrii'
of Berar, who had now received the title of Rukn-ud-dau!ab,
was appointed vaziv of the Deccan, which appointment he
resigned after a few months, leaving the finances of the State
in a deplorable condition. Ghazi-ud-dIn Khan, in order to
attach the Marathas to his cause, had assigned to them the
revenues of all the northern districts of the Deccan and
RaghujI Bhonsla, on the pretext of Ghazi-ud-din’s promise,
had collected and retained the whole of the revenue of Berar.
One of the first acts of Samsam-ud daulah, who had succeed-
ed Rukn-ud-daulah as minister, was to send against Raghuj I
an army which succeeded in forcing him to disgorge five
lakhs of rupees — an utterly inadequate share of his plunder.
In 1754 RaghujI Bhonsla died and Rukn-ud-daulah returned
to Berar as sUbcihdar. He was displaced in 1756 in favour of
Mir Nizam All, the brother of Salabat Jang, who on his
g 2 AMRAOtt DISTRICT. HISTORY AND ARCI1 a:OLOGY.
appointment as sTihahdar of Berar received the title of Nizam -
ud-daulah. Nizam-ud-daulah now marched into Berar, where
his presence was required, and encamped at Ellichpur While
he was halting here Bapu Karandiya, Bhonsla’s lieutenant,
invaded the province and advanced as far as Borgaon where
Nizam ud-daulah met and defeated him. The treaty of peace
which was concluded was not, however, sufficiently stiingent
in its terms to prevent the Marathas from continuing their
depredations in Berar.
91. In 1761 Nizam-ud-daulah, who had already received the
titles of Asaf Jah and Nizam-ul-Mulk,
AcoeM^on oj Nmim Ah jgp^ggj jj,g brother and became ruler
of the Hydeiabad State, In 1763 he
appointed Ghulam Saiyid Khan governor of Berar, but
removed him in 1764 to Daulalabad and replaced him in
Berar by Ismail Khan the Afghan.
In 1773 Zafar-ud-daulah, who had been engaged in sup-
pressing a rebellion in Nirmal and had pursued some of the
rebels into Berar, conceived the idea that Ismail Khan was
harbouring them. He wrote to him accusing him of treason
and Ismail sent an indignant reply The correspondence
between the two amlfs became so acrimonious that Ismail, as
a precautionary measure, strengthened the fortifications of
Ellichpur, whereupon Zafar-ud-daulah reported to Rukn- ud-
daulah, Nizam All’s minister, that the governor of Berar was
meditating rebellion and asked for permission to march
against him. Rukn-ud-daulah, who did not doubt Ismail’s
fidelity and was loth to see the 1 esources of the State frittered
away in civil war, returned no reply to this request, and
Zafar-ud-dauiah, either taking his silence for consent or
affecting to believe that the urgency of the case was sufficient
to justify him in acting on his own responsibility, invaded
Berar and in June besieged Ismail m Ellichpur. On hearino'
that the conflict which he had tiled to prevent had broken out
Rukn-ud-daulah hastened to Ellichpur and patched up a tem-
porary peace between the two disputants.
tllSTORY.
93
92. In 1775 Nizam All, taking advantage of the existence
Affairs at Nagpur. ^ Opposed to MudhojI
Overthrow of Bhonsla in Nagpur, sent Ibrahim Beg
Ismail Khan in Bciar agamst him, and himself advanced as
far as Ellichpur. MudhojI, unable to cope at the same time
with his foreign and domestic enemies, obtained a cession of
hostilities by causing Gawllgaih and Narnalato be surrendered
to the Mughal officers and submitted himself, with his son
HaghujI, to Nizam All m Ellichpur. tlere the wily Maratha,
by the humility of his demeanour, succeeded in obtaining better
terms, and m consideration of his agieeingto co-operate with the
Nizam’s troops in suppressing the Goods, Gawllgarh and
Narnala were restored to him. At the same time Nizam All’s
eldest son, All Jah, was appointed subaMar of Berar Ismail
Khan was in disgrace Rukn-ud-daulah, who had befriended
him, had been killed and his place had been taken by Ismail’s
former enemy, Zafai-ud-daulah Before Rukn ud daulah's
death Ismail Khan, feaiful of the effect of Zafar-ud-daulah’s
intrigues at court, had left Ellichpur without leave and present-
od himself before Nizam All This breach of official etiquette
was made the pretext for his degradation and he was informed
that a jagir had been assigned to him in Balapur and that he
had been degraded to the position of governor of that District.
The message delivered to him was purposely made as galling
as possible, fie was ordered to vacate Ellichpur and appear
before Nizam All and was advised that his surest avenue to
favour was to apply for an interview through Zafai-ud-daulah.
The headstrong Afghan refused so to humiliate 'himself, and
on this refusal being raported to Nizam All, Zafar-ud-daulah
was sent against Ellichpur, and was closely followed by
Nizam All himself. Ismail Khan marched out of Ellichpur
and attacked Zafai-ud-daulah with great determination, but
though the vigour of the attack threw the enemy into confu-
sion for a time, the gariison of Ellichpur was no match for
the army of Hyderabad. Ismail Khan was surrounded and
overpowered and when he fell his head was severed from his
body and sent to the Nizam. Nizam All marched on, and
on May 14th encamped at Ellichpur and made a pilgrimage
94 AMRAOTI DISTRICT. HISTORY AND ARCHAEOLOGY.
to the shrine of Abdur Rahman. Zafar-ud-daulah was
rewarded for this victory with the title of Mubariz-ul-Mulk.
Bahrain Jang was appointed All Jah’s lieutenant in Berfir,
Saiyid Mukarram Khan was appointed Diwan of the
province, and a Hindu, Sham Rao, was made faujdai' of
Ellichpur
93 In 1783 Bahram Jang was removed from his appoint-
ment in Berar and Avas succeeded by
Attempi^^to^^oust the Zafar-ud-daulah’s son Ihtisham Jang
Zafar-ud-daulah had died m the mean-
time and his title was bestowed upon his son. The second
Zafar-ud-daulah was intent on breaking the power of the
Marathas m Berar and was preparing to besiege Gawllgarh
and Narnala and expel the Maralha revenue collectors from
Berar when MudhojI Bhonsla became aware of his designs
and complained to Nizam All that the governor of Berar was
meditating the violation of treaty agreements. Zafar-ud-
daulah was therefore removed and Muhammad Kabir Khan,
one of the jagirdars of the province, was appointed in his
place. In 1790 Muhammad Kabir gave way to Salabat
Khan, the elder son of Ismail Khan. In 1792 Buhlul Khan,
Salabat Khan’s younger brother, was appointed subaMav of
Berar and Aurangabad. Buhlul was a debauchee with a taste
for architecture and spent all the revenues which his able
Diwan, Khaja Bahadur, could squeeze out of the province on
his pleasures and his hobby. He was summoned to Hydera-
bad and ordered to render an account of his stewardship,
which proved to be so unsatisfactory that he was thrown into
prison, where he remained for some years, and officers were sent
to search his house in Ellichpur. If they expected to dis-
cover hoarded money they were disappointed for Buhlul had
spent the money as he received it,
94. The deputy governor of Berar m 1801 was Gangaram
. , . . Narayan, who in that year caused an
Distuibance in Ellich- ■' , ,
pur and siege of GawTl- emeute in Ellichpur. He introduced a
new lax apparently for the purpose of
augmenting his private income, and attempted to levy it from
all the habitants of the town alike, including soldiers and other
HISTORY.
95
customary exemptees. The malcontents rose and attacked the
fort of Ellichpur. When they burst in, the wretched Ganga-
lam threw himself on their mercy and promised never more
to offend them. Thus were the people satisfied and the power
and prestige of the government held up to scorn.
On December 5th, 1803, General Arthur Wellesley, having
defeated the Marathas at Argaon on November 29th, airived
at Ellichpur on his way to Gawllgarh, which was held for
RaghujI Bhonsla by the Rajput Beni Singh On the 7th
Wellesley marched to Deogaon, below the southern face of the
fait, sending Colonel Stevenson and his division by a route
about thirty miles in length through the lulls with the object
of attacking the fort from the north. From the 7th to the
T 2th Stevenson's division suffered great hardships, dragging
the heavy ordnance and stores by hand over roads which the
troops themselves made for the occasion. On the 12th
Stevenson occupied Labada, a village, now deserted, on the
col which connects the Gawllgarh hill with the ChikaldS
plateau, and just north of the fort, near the present cemetery.
On the night of the 12th Stevenson erected two batteries
opposite to the north face of the fort, where the principal
attack was to be delivered and on the same night Wellesley’s
division erected a batteiy on a hill under the southern gate,
the Pir Fateh darwaza, but this battery was of little use save
to distract the enemy’s attention from the attack on the
north face, for the heavy iron guns could not be moved to
the top of the bill, and the brass guns produced but little
effect. On the morning of December 13th all the batteries
opened fire on the fort, and by the night of the 14th the
breaches in the northern face were practicable and all
arrangements had been made for storming the place. The
storming party consisted of the flank companies of His
Majesty’s g4th Regiment and of the native corps in Steven-
son’s divisions and was commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel
Kenny of the ist battalion of the nth Madras Native Infantry
(now the 8ist Pioneers). It was supported by the battalion
companies of the 94th and Lieutenant-Colonel Halyburton’s
brigade, Lieutenant-Colonel Macleane’s brigade being
96 AMRAOTI DISTRICT, HISTORY AND ARCHAEOLOGY.
in reserve, and the attack was delivered at lo a.m. on the
iSth. ] At the same time Wellesley delivered two attacks
from^the south. One was directed against the southern gate,
the attacking party consisting of the 74th Highlanders, five
companies of the 78th Highlanders and the ist battalion of
the 8th Regiment of Madras Native Infantry (afterwards the
8th Madras Infantry) under the command of Lieutenant-
Colonel Wallace of the 74th, and the objective of the other
party, which consisted of the remaining five companies of
the 78th Highlanders and the ist battalion of the loth Regi-
ment of Madras Native Infantry (afterward the loth Madras
Infantry), under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Chal-
mers, was the north-western gate.
These two attacks from the south were destined merely to
distract the enemy’s attention from Stevenson’s attack on the
'north, unless it should be found possible lo blow the gates in.
Neither of the two gates was blown in, but Chalmers’ column
was able to perform a useful service for it arrived at the
north-western gate at the same time as a detachment sent
forward by Stevenson, whose first attack had been successful,
to establish communication with Chalmers, and in time to
intercept considerable numbers of the enemy who were flying
from that detachment through the gate. Chalmers was thus
enabled not only to enter the outer fort without difficulty, and
thus join iorces with Stevenson for the attack on the northern
face of the inner fort, but also to destroy large numbers of
the fleeing enemy,
95, The next task of the besiegers was to effect an
^ ^ ^ entrance into the inner fort, the wall
Fall of GdWilgarh. rv.., , ,, ,
of which had not been breached, and
some ineffectual attempts were made to force an entrance by
the Delhi gate which is the strongest gate in the fort and is
exceedingly well provided with flank defences on the Indian
system of fortification. A place was then found where it was
possible to scale the wall and Captain Campbell, with the
light company of the 94th, fixed the ladders, escaladed the
wall, and opened the Delhi gate to the storming party. After
HISTORY.
97
a brief resistance the fort was in the possession of Wellesley’s
troops, but the slaughter of the enemy was very great, espe-
cially at the gates. The bodies of the luladav&'aA Beni Singh
were found amidst a heap of slain within the Delhi gate.
Some of the Rajputs, and among them these two officers, had
attempted to perform the rite of jauhar before sallying out to
meet their assailants, but fortunately the work was clumsily
done, for of twelve or fourteen women only three were found
to be dead and a few others wounded. The survivors were
treated with respect and were well cared for.
The British losses were very small, considering the nature
of the operation. Among the British troops three officers
were wounded, of whom two, Lieutenant-Colonel Kenny
already mentioned, and Lieutenant Young of the 2nd battalion
of the 7th Madras Native Infantry died, and five rank and file
were killed and fifty-nine wounded. The casualties among
native troops were eight killed and fifty-one wounded. Lieu-
tenant-Colonel Kenny was buried at Ellichpur and Lieu-
tenant Young neai the spot where be fell. Around the latter's
grave the Chikalda cemetery wall is built.
General Sir Jasper Nicolls m his diary praises the personal
bravery of Beni Singh and the hlddar, but adds that they did
not seem to be able to frame any regular plan for the defence
of the inner wall, or to have infused much of their own spirit
into their sepoys. It is, indeed, evident from the insigni-
ficance of the besiegers’ losses, that the victories of Assaye
and Argaon had awed the troops of the Marathas, and the
defence of the fort was far from being resolute. The diffi-
culties with which the attacking force had to contend arose
principally from the nature of the country, Stevenson’s
arduous march through the hills has already been described.
Of this feat Wellesley wrote: ‘ the troops in liis division went
* through a series of laborious services, such as I never before
‘ witnessed, with the utmost cheerfulness and perseverance,’
Wellesley’s own division was less severely tried, but the
erection of a battery on the hill under the southern gate must
have entailed much heavy labour, and their operations on
A,MRAOTI DISTRICT. HISTORY
ARCH.IIOLOGY.
1 5th must have been most exhausting, even to the High-
landers of the 74th and 78th Regiments, for the approaches to
the fort from the south are exceedingly difficult.
96. Two days after the fall of Gawllgarh a preliminary
treaty was signed at Deogaon, Welles-
headquarters, by which RaghujI
Bhonsla agreed to withdraw fiom the
plains of Berar to the east of the Wardha river, retaining,
however, the fortresses of Gawllgarh and Narnala, and the
Melghat, This treaty, which was described by the Governor.
General in a private letter to his brother as ‘ wise, honourab'e,
and glorious,' was followed by another with Sindhia, signed
on December 30th at Anjangaon in the DaryEpur taluk;
These two treaties brought the second Maratha war to an
honourable conclusion.
97. Raja Mahipat Ram, who had commanded the sub-
sidiary force supplied by the Nizam
““-a was
rewarded with the governorship of
BerSr, but intrigued against the minister in Hyderabad, was
degraded, and then openly rebelled against the Nizam.
After giving some tiouble he took refuge with Holkar,
in whose dominions he was assassinated. In 1806
Raja Govind Bakhsh succeeded him as subahdar of Berar
and Aurangabad. In 1813 Vithal Bliagdeo of Karasgaon,
who has left as a monument of himself m his native
town a fort of fine sandstone, was appointed deputy
governor of Ellichpur. Throughout these changes Salabat
Khan held a large jagir at Ellichpui for the purpose
of maintaining the EUichpur brigade, consisting of two
battalions of infantry and 1600 horse which were reported
by the Resident Mr. (afterwards Sir Henry) Russell m
1817 as being among the best troops in the Nizam’s
army. The infantry battalions were incorporated in the
Hyderabad Contingent. Salabat Khan’s jagir was resumed
from his son Namdar Khan in 1832.
HISTORY.
99
98. The District was not affected by the war of
Third Mara tha war, 1817-18, but the Peshwa, after his
defeat by Lieutenant-Colonel Adams
of 1822, and the ^ . n j
Assignment, at Siwani in the Yeotmal District, fied
northwards through the District into the Satpura hills.
The treaty of Deogaon had left the Melghat with its two
fortresses in the hands of the Bhonslas and the tract served
as a refuge and stronghold for rebels and outlaws, the
most notorious of whom was Sheikh Dulla, whose depre-
dations in the hills, and excursions into the richer plains
extended over some years. The District was not the
scene of any important action during the Pindari war,
though it had suffered from the ravages of these marau-
ders. The wall which surrounds the town of Amraoti
was built in 1807 as a protection against their inroads,
and there was some local fighting for the hitman (‘ bloody ’)
wicket m this wall is said to be so called from 700 persons
having fallen in a fight close to it in 1818.
In 1822, after the conclusion of the Pindari war, a fiesh
treaty was made whereby the tracts lying to the east of
the Wardha were ceded to Nagpur, and the Melghat,
with its fortresses, Gawllgarh and Narnala, was restored
to the Nizam. By the same treaty the claims of the
Marathas to chauth were extinguished, but this provision
benefited Berar little, for extravagance and maladminis-
tration at the capital led to the farming out of the province
to usurers, and these extortioners reduced it to a condition of
great misery, which was enhanced by the famine of 1833.
In 1853 the District, with the rest of Berar, was
assigned to the East India Company in satisfaction of
the debt due on account of arrears of pay disbursed to the
Contingent and as security for the pay of that force in future.
99. The troubles of 1857 scarcely affected Berar,
and Tantia Topi who attempted, by
forcing his way through the Melghat,
to escape from Hindustan into the
Deccan was turned back. Meadows Taylor who was
Deputy Commissioner during a portion of this time praises
lob AMRAOTI DISTRICT. HISTORY AND ARCII.ROLOGy.
the loyalty of the Melghat Rajas in -repelling emissaries
sent by the mutineers to raise the Deccan, In 1858 the
fortress of Gawllgarh was dismantled, and in 1861 the
treaty of Assignment was revised, the Nizam receiving
several advantages m teturn for his staunchness in the
Mutiny.
100. When the province first fell into the hands of the
.... . , Company it was divided into two
Administration since , ,
the Assignment districts, South Berar (the ‘ B&ia
Progress since Mutiny, its headquarters at Hm-
goli and North Berar with headquarters at Buldana. The
latter distiict included the whole Payanghat valley, that is to
say the present Amraoti District, the northern half of Akola
and part of Buldana. After the Mutiny Hingoli with the
neighbouring country was restored to the Nizam, and the pro-
vince reconstituted into East Ber&r with headquarters at
Amraoti, and West Berar with headquarters at Akola. In
1864 the Yeotmal District, at first called the South east Berar
and later the Wun District, was separated from Amraoti
and in 1867 the Ellichpur District, which at first in-
cluded the taluk of Morsi, subsequently restored to Amraoti,
was formed. In 1903 the treaties of Assignment were
superseded by an agreement under which the Nizam
leased Berar to the Government of India in perpetuity
in return for an annual rent of twenty-five lakhs, and the
administration of the Province was transferred from the
Resident at Hyderabad to the Chief Commissioner of the
Central Provinces. After this transfer, m 1905, the Dis-
tricts of the Province were redistributed and the Ellichpur
District was once more amalgamated with Amraoti, while the
Murtizapur taluk was transferred from Amraoti to Akola.
Since 1857 the history of the District has been the record of
a steady increase of prosperity, which received a sudden
stimulus from the American Civil War, which increased
the demand for Indian cotton, and was only temporarily
checked by the season of scarcity in 1896-97 and the
famine of 1899-1900,
ARCH/tOLOGY.
ARCHiEOLOGY,
The Amraoti District is poor m archaeological remains,
the only monuments of interest being the hill fort of
Gawllgarh and a few buildings in Ellichpur.
loi. It is impossible to say when the Gawllgarh hill
, was first fortified, but its name points
Gawilgsii'h
to the fact that it was at one time,
like Gaollgarh in Khandesh and Asirgarh (Asa AMy Garh)
near Burhanpur, a stronghold of Ahir or Gaoll chieftains,
and a legend exists to the effect that these chiefs had a
mud fort on this hill. No part of the existing fort can
be traced back to a period anterior to 1425, when it is
said, by Firishta, to have been built by Ahmad Shah
Wall, the ninth king of the BahmanI dynasty. It was
subsequently repaired and improved by Fateh-ullah Imad-
ul-Mulk, the first independent king of Berar, m 1488,
and by Bahram Khan, commandant of the fort under
Saiyid MurtazE Sabzawari, in 1577. The most conspicuous
of the remains upon the hillj is the rum of the great
masjd which stands upon the highest point towards the
south side of the plateau. The mosque, which is
visible from the Berar valley for a great distance, has seven
arches in its facade and was three bays deep from front
to back. All along, above the arches, runs an over-
hanging cornice of simple design, three- fourths of which
have been destroyed. Each end of the facade is flanked
by a projecting square pier ; but these, instead of being
surmounted by imnays, as elsewhere, carry above the roof
most elegant little square canopies or chhatris with deep
cornices, rich brackets, and perforated Jali or screen-work
in each of their four sides. The chhatvl froni the south
pier is missing ; that on the north remains, but is damaged.
A flight of steps descend from the mosque to the
great squaie courtyard before it, the pavement of which
is now nearly all up. A high wall, with niches at in*
tervals, encloses the courtyard, having a great gateway
on the east and smaller entrances Jpn the north and
south. From the great eastern gateway a deep flight of
i03 AMRAOTI DISTRICT. HISTORY 4ND ARCHAEOLOGY.
steps leads down to the ground without, but at sortie
later period a tomb has been built before this, and with
its flanking walls, encloses an area before the steps and
prevents access to the entrance, save through the tomb.
A small amount of blue tiling has been used on the
face of the mosque. The mosque is unfoitunately in a
ruinous condition. The whole of the western wall, which
contained the mhmbs and was supported by buttresses, has
fallen away down the steep hillside and has carried with
it portions of the north and south walls and one entire
range of the domes, so that only fourteen domes
now remain. A small and substantially built mosque
stands on the edge of a large tank, a short distance to
the north-east of the great mosque. There are a few old
iron guns in the fort, two of which are of considerable
size. The most interesting monuments in Gawllgarh are
two gateways, the Delhi damaza between the inner and
the outer fort, and the Plr Palha ' darwUza, the south-
western gate of the fort. Above the latter are the remains
of an inscription, much weatherbeaten, for it has borne
the full force of the south-western monsoon for more
than four centuries, which tells us that Ulugh Imad-ul-
Mulk, that is to say Fateh-ullah Imad-ul-Mulk, rebuilt
with the old stones in the year H, 893 (A. D. 1488) the
idmi masjid above the tank, in the reign of Mahmud
Shah Bahmanl. This inscription evidently refers to the
repairing of the great mosque, the western wall of which
had probably even then given away, owing to the steep-
ness of the slope of the knoll on which it is built. The
Delhi gate has a group of sculptured sj mbols on its face,
above the archway. In the centre is a palmtree, and on
either side of this and below it a lion passant, looking
inward with a small elephant below each paw. Above
the lion, on each side, is an eagle displayed, double-
headed, holding in each of its beaks a small elephant.
This bird is the fabulous ganda bherunda, one of the sym-
bols of the Vijayanagar empire of Southern India. The
' So called locally. The word ifa probably Fateh,
Archaeology.
163
occurrence of this symbol enables us to determine the
builder of the gate, for Fateh-ullah Imad-ul-Mulk was a
Brahman of Vijayanagar who was captured in childhood
by Ahmad Shah Wall and was brought up as a Musal-
man His extensive repairs to the fort, were a prepara-
tion for his declaration of independence in 1490.
In the webtern face of the fort is a fine bastion with
the following inscription • —
‘ In Gawil Bahram built a bastion
‘ The like of which the eye of time hath not seen,
‘ He earned it to such a height
‘ That the planet Saturn takes his ease in its shelter.
‘ When I pondered over the date of its construction
‘ (It was found in the words) “ That bastion of
Bahram is completed.’”
The chronogram gives the date (A.D. 1577), wrongly
given in the Berar Gazetteer ' as A.H. 453 (A.D. 1061)
at which period there were certainly no Musalmans in the
Deccan. Bahram Khan was commandant of Gawllgarh
undei Saiyid Muitaza Sabzawari, Murtaza Nizam Shah’s
governor of Berar, and the fort was repaired in 1577
owing to the prevalence of a lumour that Akbar was
then marching on Beiar. What is known as the outer
fort of Gawllgar’n, which lies between the Delh damaza
and the deserted village of Labada, was probably built
by the Bhonsla rajas of Nagpui, who held Gawli from
the first quarter of the eighteenth century until 1822.
On one of the battlements there is an inscription m
Sanskrit or MaRathI, probably the latter. This has not
yet been deciphered, but a careful study of the stone itself
Would probably lead to a successful decipherment, for the
Nagarl or Balbodh letters ate well and carefully formed,
though they are so lightly incised in the rough granite
that it would be a matter of great difficulty to obtain a
satisfactory impression.
’ Pages 143, 144,
io4 aMraoti district. Mistgry ANb auch^ologV.
102. The shrine at Ellichpur which bears the name of
, Abdur Rahman Shah the Ghazt, the
Ellichpur , , . r , , .
legendary history of whom has al-
ready been discussed, has no architectural merit and cannot
be assigned to any date earlier than A.D. 1400, It is
probably the tomb of the officers of Firoz Shah BahmanI
who were killed in an expedition against Kherla in that
year. There are remains of other buildings at Ellichpur,
but none is of archaeological interest.
CHAPTER III.
POPULATION.
Statistics of Population.
103. The present Amraoti District was constituted in 1905
of the old Amraoti and Ellichpur
Districts with the exception of the
Murtizapur taluk. The last census was held in 1901 and as
under the various heads it gives most commonly District not
taluk totals, statistics for the present area aie extremely
difficult to obtain. ’ Moreover, the wide difference in
character that separates the Melghat from the plains must
always make generalizations as to the whole District
deceptive.
Among the Districts of the Central Provinces and Berar
Amraoti stands third in respect of population and sixth in
respect of size. The following table shows the figures by
taluks , and the comparison with the rest of the Provinces :
Square
miles.
Population.
Average
density
per Sq M.
Amraoti Taluk
672
175,557
261
Morsi ,,
622
143,734
231
Chandur ,,
855
192,805
226
Ellichpur ,,
469
146,035
311
Daryapur
505
114,698
227
Melghat ,, . ...
1 1,631
36,670
22
Amraoti District
4,754
809,499
170
,, ,, excluding urban areas
133
,, ,, excluding Melghat but
including urban areas
247
,, excluding both Mel-
gh't and urban areas
! 209
British Districts C. F. and Berat ...
120
Daryapur with 210 persons per square mile shows the highest
rural density of any taluk.
^ In this section italics will be used for district totals which includs
and ordinary type for those which exclude Mortizjtpur.
AMRAOTI district. POPULATIC5^f.
io6
The District contains according to the census nineteen towns
and 2,033 villages of which 43 have over 2,000 inhabitants and
1,214 less than 500, 448 are uninhabited. The towns are as
tollows ; —
Amraoii Taluk. Ellichpuy Taluk.
Amraoti ...
34,216
Elhchpur
26,082
Badnera
10,859
Paratwada or
Kholapur ..v
5>373
Elhchpur Civil
Amraoti Camp.
5.295
Station ...
10,410
Balgaon Jagir
5,284
Karasgaon ...
7.456
Shirasgaon
Oasba
6.537
Chandur Bazai
5.208
lUoisi Taluk.
Chandur Taluk.
Morsi
8.313
Chandur Railway
Warud
7.179
5.70Q
Sendurjana ...
6,860
Mangrul Dasta-
Ner Pinglai ...
5.408
glr .
6,588
Talegaon Dashasar
6,220
Dattapur ... 5,187
Daryapnv Taluk.
Anjangaon, 8,783.
The total urban population is therefore 176,958 or 21 '85 per
cent, of that of the District, a proportion only exceeded m
Nagpur. Many of the so-called towns are almost entirely
agricultural m character, while one or two large villages
omitted from the list, such as Daryapur 4389 With its subiub
Wanosa 915, have a considerable mercantile population.
There are only four municipalities, namely, the two Amraotis
and the two Ellichpurs ; but each of the tahsll headquarters in
the plain, as well as Dattapur, possesses a cotton market
committee which exercises some of the functions of a munici-
pality, so far at least as the cotton market and its
surroundings are concerned.
Of the various towns there is little of importance to
note. Eleven have increased and eight decreased in popula-
tion since 1891 ; the decrease is most remarkable in Sendur-
STATISTICS os' POPULaTIOI^.
107
jana 31 '7 percent., Ner Pinglaiai per cent, and Anjangaon
1 7 per cent. All these are largely agricultural in character ;
while the increase is most notable in commercial towns,
Dattapur having risen from 3225 to 5187 (6o‘8 per cent.),
Chandur Railway 4794 to 5700 (nearly 19 per cent.), and Chan
dur Bazar, in spite of its unfavourable position with regard to
communications, from 4974 to 5208 (5 7 per cent.). The total
urban population has, however, risen only by 5928 persons,
4 e. less than 3 per cent. Further details will be found
under the separate headings in the Gazetteer Appendix, A
characteristic feature of Amraoti, as indeed of every Berat
District, is the number of large villages, no less than 2‘68
per cent, of the whole number having over 2000 inhabitants, a
proportion not elsewhere exceeded in these Provinces , and
6-48 per cent, having between 1000 and 2000, a proportion only
exceeded in Akola and Buldana.
104. A census of the District has been taken on four occa-
^ . , sions. For the first (1867) only pro-
Growth of population. , , \ ^
vincial totals are now obtainable ; but m
1881, i8gi, 1901 the figures for the present area were
778,167, 849,604; and 809,499 respectively. The first decade was
one of uninterrupted prosperity while the second was broken
by the two severe famines of 1897-98 and 1899-1900. The
increase and decrease require no further explanation. A
comparison of taluk totals suggests nothing of importance.
As we might expect, ElHchpur and Daryapur being far removed
not only from the railway but from any through line of com-
munication, have decreased steadily but slowly throughout :
while the other taluks increased in the first period and fell off
in the second. The loss in numbers appears to have been most
heavy in the Melghat where it amounted to not less than 21*7
per cent, of the whole population. Largely, no doubt, this
figure is due to the rigour of the famine and the extreme
difficulty of administering relief in a wild and mountainous
country to a backward and diffident population : but the
decrease does not signify sheer loss of life. Much of it is
traeeable to emigration, both temporary and permanent, to the
richer tracts of Nimar and Berar, and part to the absence of
AMrAoTI district. POPULATION!
ioS
temporary immigrants whom the forests ordinarily attract from
neighbouring areas. Something also must be allowed for the
temporary road gangs at work in 1891 who had no successors
in 1901.
105. The proportion of net cropped aiea per head of popula-
tion in 1891-92 was 1.93 acres; m
^Cultivation.”'* 1 90 1-02 it had risen to 2.14, and in 1906-7
to 2.24 on the last census population,
a higher figure than is given for any other District in these
Provinces. At the last census 650,784 persons were returned
as dependent upon agriculture while 6691 were supported in
various ways by pasturage. As the returns show, the District
is almost entirely an agricultural one, for besides those returned
as directly engaged on the soil, who by themselves are more
than two-thirds of the population, there are many minor occupa-
tions of an agricultural nature. Village servants, for instance,
who number with dependents 13,695 : patels and patwaris not
shown as agriculturists, with their dependents, 5725 and 2708
respectively ; hay grass and fodder sellers 3489 ; and several
other descriptions are all connected with agriculture. Prob-
ably, it will be no great over-estimate to say that seven out of
every eight persons in the District are m one way or another
immediately dependent on the care and cultivation of the soil.
106. It IS natural that with so large a rural population no
Other pursuits. pursuit should show figures of
much interest. The staple crop is
cotton, and we find accordingly that 33,465 persons are
engaged in or dependent on the preparation of cotton (and
silk ) for the market, of whom belong to cotton mills
and gins and 10,115 are hand loom weavers. Piece goods
and tailoring further support 8634. No other trades show
figures of much interest though we may note the totals 4536
bankers and moneylenders, ■With 10,018 moneylenders’ and
shopkeepers’ servants as indicative of the amount of money
in circulation; and goldsmiths 9560 and liquor sellers
6207 as giving some indication of the margin which the
people manage to devote to mere luxuries.
eTATISTICS OF POPULATION.
log
107. In igoi just over 87 per cent, of the population were
,,, shown as having been born within the
Migration. .
District ; of the remainder 46,697 came
from other Berar Districts and may be treated as the natural
shifting of population inside the Province. No less than
125,355 are returned as born in the Central Provinces, an
enormous total due no doubt partly to the higher wages of
labour in Berar and to the facility for coming into it from
other parts of the Central Provinces : the same explanation
holding true of the 11,187 from Rajputana and 13,441 from
the United Provinces. Large numbers of casuals known as
" Pardesis" drift down from Upper India to this neighbour-
hood, sometimes in search of employment and sometimes, it
IS to be feared, with very good reasons for quitting their
native country. Bombay also, with which Amraoti is
closely connected by the cotton industry and the railway and
by a common language, has given 1 7,343 persons. Further
explanation of the figures is not forthcoming, nor are statistics
available of the emigration from Amraoti which has also
undoubtedly been very large,
loS. All the original Settlement Reports speak of cholera
and small-pox as the two great endemic
' ^ ' scourges of the District, and some also
make reference to malaria. Of the progress of the latter it
IS impossible to speak with any certainty, for Hospital Assis-
tants are given to describing all fevers as malarial and the
statistics are therefore open to suspicion. It seems probable
however that there has been of recent years a great decline
in the prevalence of this complaint , and it appears to be a
general opinion that excepting the Melghat, where a specially
virulent type prevails, the District is as a whole tolerably
immune, though in a mild form malaria is common toward
the close of the rains. Cholera to-day cannot be described
as endemic. In only four recent years, namely, 1896, 1897,
1900, 1901 was it in any degree severe. Two of these were
famine years and in a third the people had not fully recovered
from the effects of famine ; in 1896 it appears probable that
no AMRAOTl DISTRICT. POPULATION.
the disease was imported by religious pilgrims returning from
a fair. Indeed the disease referred to by the Settlement
Officers was probably not what we now call cholera, but
some less acute bowel complaint. Such troubles are still
fairly common every year in the beginning of July, and in
August a few cases of dysentery occur. The most popular
explanation, adopted by Major Elphinstone in his Daryapur
Settlement Report, ascribes them to the Berar custom of storing
juari, the staple food, in earthen pits called pcos where it be-
comes very damp and mouldy at the commencement of the rains.
Medical investigations, however, do not completely bear out
this theory. Statistics show deaths from dysentery and allied
diseases as very much more common in Berar than in the
Central Provinces. But very considerable allowance must
be made for the greater completeness of Berai vital statistics
as well as for the tendency of police and village officers to
reduce all cases of death to a few simple causes ; and in
Amraoti District it would certainly be a mistake to say that
bowel complaints were unusually common. In general the
District IS admittedly a very healthy one both for Europeans
and Indians m spite of the fierce heat prevalent in the
summer months. It has been said that not a single authentic
case of enteric has ever been known in Berar ; and though
this is doubtless an exaggeration, it is certainly true that this
malady is extremely rare.
Vaccination in Berar (excepting the Melghat, where it is said,
though statistics are not available, to be somewhat backward)
has been a great success and the Amraoti District in parti-
cular has of recent years been remarkably free from small-
pox. Not only has there been no severe epidemic, but m only
three years 1896, 1905, 1906 did the number of deaths reach
one hundred. This excellent result is due largely to the
active co-opeiation of village officers in the spread of vaccina-
tion ; for the Vaccination Act does not apply except in the
four municipal towns. The Distiict is divided into circles,
two for each taluk, and the vaccinator visits every village ra
his circle. The patwan prepares a list of children to be
vaccinated and the names are entered in a register by the
STATISTICS OF POPULATION. Ill
vaccinator. As a general rule the protection afforded is fully
understood and people are perfectly willing to accept it.
These remarks of course do not apply to the jungle tribes
of the Melghat, among whom registers are not maintained, reli-
ance being placed rather upon personal influence. The latest
statistics for the plains show an annual proportion of 33 76
persons protected per 1000 of population.
Amraoti appears to have escaped plague until 1902 when
there were 39 cases. In 1903-04 there was a severe outbreak;
the deaths in the old Amraoti District numbered over 9000
and those in Ellichpur nearly 3000 This was followed by
two years in which the mortality was less than one thousand,
a second serious epidemic occurring in 1906 07 with 6000
deaths. In 1908-09 the disease was again virulent, carrying
off 2800 persons. Amraoti city alone lost 3100, 1100 and 996
lives in the three epidemics respectively.
109. The principal language of the District is MaiathI,
, - . which IS spoken by 627,000 persons, or
Language ; Marathi. ' . . . /
70 per cent, of the population. The form
of the language locally used is that known as the Berari dialect
and is closely related with that which Marathi assumes in
the Deccan. The difference between the two forms of speech
is slight and they gradually merge into each other in Bul-
dana. Long vowels, and especially final ones, are very fre-
quently shortened, and there is a strong tendency among the
lower classes to substitute 0 for ava or avt, thus 20I for zaval,
near ; udola for tdanla, squandered. An a is very commonly
used where the Deccan form of the language has an especi-
ally in the termination of neuter bases, in the suffix ne of the
instrumental, and in the future. Thus asa, so ; sangtUa, it was
said; Mia, swine, asal, I shall be. I is very often inter-
changed with « and jra ; thus dila, della and dyalla, given;
initial e, is commonly pronounced as a ye ; thus hk, and yek,
one. The Anunasika is very commonly dropped, or, occasionally
replaced by an n; thus katu, to do , tydmule therefore; Inn thou.
This is, however, the case in the Deccan also. The cerebral n
I Mr HirA Lai, Asst. Gazetteer Superintendent, has kindly supplied
the note on Languages,
112
AMRAOTl DISTRICT, POPULATION.
is always changed to the dental n ; thus kon^ who ; panl, water.
L and n are continually interchanged m the future tenses ;
thus mi marin and imi il, I shall strike. V is very indistinctly
sounded before i and e and is often dropped altogether. Thus
isto, fire , is, twenty ; yd, time. This fact accounts for occa-
sional spellings such as Vishvar, God. The neuter gender is
thoroughly preserved only in Marathi and Gujarati, but the
distinction between it and the masculine is weakened in the
Beran dialect. Mtinsa, men, is a neuter plural, but it is fre
quently combined with an adjective in the masculine gender ;
thus tsans^le mausa, good men. In verbs the second person
singular has usually the form of the third person ; thus iU ahe,
thou art, for Mes. In the present tense a is substituted for
I in the terminations of the second person singular, and the
third person plural ; thus /« mavta, thou stnkest ; U matiat,
they strike. The habitual past is often used as ordinary past;
thus to mhane, he said. In the Ellichpur taluk two small
dialects Zadpi and Koshti are spoken but they do not materially
differ from the prevailing language of the District. A pecu-
liarity of Zadpi is the substitution of the cerebral /for a cerebral
d when preceded bya vowel , thus ghola, a horse. The genuine
cerebral / is commonly pronounced as r; thus km, famine.
A further characteristic of Beran Marathi as distinguished from
the purer tongue spoken farther west is the large vocabulary
which, in the course of Muhammadan dominion in Berar, it has
borrowed from Urdd.
Other Languages.
I IQ, Among other languages Urdu is spoken by 66,000 per-
sons or 8 per cent, of the population.
This IS the largest figure m any District
of the Provinces. The same is the case with Marwari which
has 13,000 speakers m the District. Urdu is spoken by
Musalmans, while Marwari is spoken by trader immigants from
Rajputana, The number of Hindi speakers exceeds that of
the other three Districts of Berar put together by 2,000, there
being 35,000 m this District forming 4 per cent, of the popula-
tion. These are all immigrants from the north. It is impos-
sible to draw any distinction between the Urdd and Hindi
STATistICS OF POPULATION. li3
locally spoken. Except amonga few Persian scholars in Ellich-
pur the language is the same whichever alphabet is used ; and
this fact IS recognised locally by the term Musalmani bat
which covers both tongues. Almost the whole of the Korku
population of Berar is concentrated in this District or more
specifically in the Melghat taluk; and it looks somewhat
curious that there should be 27,748 speakers of the Korkfi
language against the tribal strength of 27,051. But this
is probably due to the fact that Nihals, the drudges of
the Korkus, also speak their language. Originally the Nihals
had a distinct language of their own which is now very rapidly
disappearing. Nothing is known as to its afifinities, and the
few who still speak it do so with so large an admixture of Korkfi
and Marathi words that it has become difficult to obtain any
definite knowledge. Gondl is spoken by 24,399 persons,
exceeding the number of Gonds by 1154. This may lie
explained by the fact that Gondl is also used as their
speech by Pardhans. Korku and Gondi belong to different
families of aboriginal languages, the former to Miinda
and the latter to Dravidian stock. The Rev. John Drake
has written an excellent Korku grammar which may be
consulted for details. The phonetical system is broadly
the same as in Santali. There are two genders, one
denoting animate beings and the other denoting inanimate
objects. They are, however, often confounded. There are
three numbers, the singular, the dual and the plural. Number
is only marked in the case of animate nouns. The suffix of
the dual is h'ng and that of the plural /te. It is interesting to
see that the dual is used to denote a married wife as in Santali,
e, g,, Tumta-king, that is, Tumta’s wife. Adjectives do not
change for gender, number or case. Comparison is effected
by putting the compared noun in the ablative. It is a well-
known fact that the Munda verb is not a verb m the strictest
sefase of the word. Every form can be used as a noun, an
adjective and a verb, The principal dialects have a separate
paiticle, the so-called categorical a, by simply adding which
any word may be turned into a verb. Thus Santali dal-ket
is the base of the past tense of the verb ial^ 8trike< It can al^o
8
il4 A\fRAOTI DISTRICT. PORUtATlON.
be used as a noun or as an adjective ; thus dal-ket-ko, those
who struck ; dal-ket-har ‘the struck having man,’ ‘ the man who
struck.’ If we add the categorical a this form is changed into
a real verb ; thus dal-kei-a, (he) struck him. Korku does not
possess any such thing as a categorical a. The same form is,
without any difference, used in the different functions. Thus,
tng-kcn-iol-tng means ‘ me-to binding me,’ ‘ binding me.’ If we
use this form as a noun, we may, for instance, add the suffix of
the locative ; thus ing-km-tol-ing-en, ‘ me-to binding-me-in,’ ‘ m
binding me.’ The same form can be used as an adjective and as
a verb ; thus, ing-ken-iol-ing koro, ‘ me-to binding-me man,’ ‘ a
man who binds me, ’ dic/t, ing-ken hang tol-ing, he me-to not
binding-me, he does not bind me. The negative particle is bang
or ha-hang which sometimes precedes and sometimes follows
the principal verb. Bang can be inflected as a verb, but in
the past tense it is more common to add dun to the base.
Among minor languages may be mentioned Gujarati
with 6000 speakers, Telugu with 4000, and Banjari with 2000.
The former two are spoken by immigrants from Gujarat and
Telingana respectively and the last by wandering pack -bullock
traders of whom Berar possesses a very large number.*
Religion.
til, The figures of religion show that Hindus constitute
. 84 per cent, of the population, Muham-
madans o per cent, and Animists 5 per
cent. In 1901 the District had also 5252 Jams, and 1127
Christians. The proportion of professed Animists is large
as compared with other Berar Districts, owing to the
inclusion of the Melghat. The Hindu religion of Berar is
in no way different from that of the rest of Maharashtra, and
it would be difiicult if not impossible to calculate its precise
indebtedness to the pantheism of the Aryan invaders, the
local animistic fetish worship of early tribes, and the
philosophical and moral revivals of Buddha and the Jains.
* The information about the Marathi and Korku languages has been
principally taken from Dr. Sten Konow’s Vols, on the Marathi and
Munda languages, edited by Dr, 0. A. Grierson in his hinguistiO Survey
of India Series,
RELIGION.
ns
Probably the strongest element has been the latest, that of
the Brahmanic counter reformation. Among Brahmans and
other high castes the Vedas, Puranas and Shastras carry the
same authority as elsewhere in the Deccan. Among Kunbis
and other Stidras, and among the more completely Hinduized
castes below the Sudras, the same deities, the same temples
and shrines, the same beliefs, rites and observances will be
found. As throughout India, the popular dogmas are a
mixture of gross superstition, metaphysical speculation and
high religious philosophy. Among the lower castes Islam
has had some slight influence, though it is easy to exaggerate
this. The spread of Islam in Berar probably dates from i2g+
A.D. when Alauddln made his first expedition to the
Deccan, Strict upholders of the faith are to be found
among those who can claim descent from the invaders,
but in the villages laxities have crept in. ‘ Here, as
‘ elsewhere in India, the Musalman villager has borrowed
‘ or inherited from his Hindu neighbour or ancestor many
‘ practices which precisians would condemn as superstitious.' '
One may compare the customs of Goanese Christians.
Living side by side with his Hindu brethren in the same or
the next village, sharing property in the same land, and
forming a part of the same family with them, it would have
been impossible for the Musalman convert completely to cast
off his old religious customs and ideas. The women especi-
ally are offenders, A Musalman woman who had not made
an offering to the small-pox goddess, would feel that she had
deliberately risked her child's life.
Village deities,
1:2. As usual each village has a number of petty deities
at whose shrines worship is offered on
special occasions. ‘ Of all the gods
' of the Hindu pantheon Mahadeo and Maroti (Hanuman)
‘ probably receive the most attention.* ° Mahadeo of Siva
is represented by his symbol the Linga or phallus, typical
of reproduction. A representation of his sacred animal, the
Draft Imperial Gazetteer of Berar, page 23i
IbideMi
tl6 AMkAOTt DISTfelCT, tOPULATIONf.
bull Nandi, IS usually placed before him ‘ The cult of Siva,’
says Dr. Barnett, ' ‘ affects the two poles of society. He
‘ IS favoured by many high class Brahmans and ascetics who
* are devoted to metaphysical studies ; for the histoiy of Siva
‘ in this connection shows him growing from a wild moun-
‘ tain-devil, patron of goblins and thieves, into a mystic
‘ sorcerer-god, and thence into a type of the Yogis and cog-
‘ nate orders of philosopher-samts. For the same reason he
‘ is popular with the lowest classes , the Yoga system in its
‘ practical side is largely based upon vulgar ideas of magic
‘ and Shamanism, and hence many of its professors have
* always been vulgar charlatans, and worse.’ Maroti is the
monkey-god whose shrine is found in every village. ‘ If a
‘ large number of temples and shrines were any test of the
' popularity of a god, Maroti would certainly bear off the palm.’
He is represented by an image of a monkey coloured with
vermilion. The face of the image must always be to the
south because LanB (Ceylon) is situated on the south of
India. Maioti’s services to Rama as related in the Ramayana
were great and many. He acted as his spy, and fought
most valiantly in the great expedition against RSwan the
demon king of the island for the recovery of Sita. The
exploits of Maroti are favourite topics among Hindus from
childhood to age, and paintings of them are common. On
Saturdays people fast in his honour. Vermilion mixed with
oil is applied to the image, a garland of m {Caloivopis gigmitea)
flowers placed on its neck and urad grains on its head. In
almost every village of Berar in connection with Siva
stands closely united, his son Ganesh, locally known as
Ganpati, as presiding over the troop of deities attendant on
Siva. Ganesh is represented by a figure, half-man and half-
elephant, in a sitting posture, with a large belly. He is called
Lambodar, ‘ pendant-bellied.’ He is the god of good luck and
of learning and remover of difficulties and obstacles. He is
addressed by orthodox Hindus at the commencement of all
undertakings, and at the opening of all compositions. Even the
* Hinduism (Religions Ancient and Modern Series), page 40,
» Old Berar Ga.!etteer, page 208.
RELIGION.
117
yearly account books commence with his sacred symbol and
with the phrase ‘ Shrl Ganeshaya namah ’ (I bow to the illus-
trious Ganesh). Khandoba is also held in much reverence by
Kunbis, as also by Dhangars and many lower castes. The
Waghyas beg in the name of Khandoba and the Murli girls are
dedicated to him. In many houses there is a small silver image
of the god, mounted and sword m hand, before which on the
Champa Shasti is waved a copper platter bearing cocoanut,
jaggery, turmeric and sixteen small lamps made of wheaten
flour. His votaries also offer him brinjals and onions, his
favourite diet, which they may not use themselves before this
day. The black dog of Khandoba is also worshipped. Sunday
is the day sacred to this deity (who is also known as
MSrtand), and alms are solicited on this day in his name.
113 . The favourite incarnation of Devi is probably
„ , , Bhawani, to whom large temples at
Other village deities. . . , . ... .
Amraoti and Mahur are dedicated, and
in whose service the Gondhalls are enrolled. She is worshipped
for the nine days, Bhawani Naoratra, preceding the Dasahra,
the idol being placed on a basket crowned every day with
fresh flowers. The basket rests on a pot full of water, and
for the whole period of nine days a light is kept burning on
a stand before the image. On the tenth day or the Dasahra,
the head of the village slays a buffalo in remembrance of the
victory of Devi over the demon god Mhaisoba or Mahishasur.
On this day also an unmarried girl used to be placed beside
the image of Bhawani and worshipped, the ceremony being
possibly a relic of the ‘ left-handed ritual ’ of the panch-
mdkar. Bhawani is also worshipped on the new and the
full moon.' Sitala or Mata Mai is the goddess of small-
pox. She is represented by a few stones rubbed with
vermilion and worshipped only during an attack of small-pox.
Cooked rice and curds are offered to the goddess when the
small-pox has subsided. Sometimes fowls or goats are
sacrificed to her. Meskai is a deity enshrined on the boun-
Beriir Census Report, 1881 page 45.
n8 AMR\OTr DISTRICT. POPULATION.
dary of a village. He-buffaloes are sacrificed to her annually
on Dasahra day. She must be propitiated at the time of
marriage by the offer of turmeric and vermilion, the remain-
der of the former article being brought home and applied to
the bride or bridegroom. ‘ Mhaisoba is a buffalo god known
* to live under the water of large rivers, and requiring propitia-
‘ tion ; WSghdeo must be appeased by those who run risks
‘ from tigers ; Satwai is a goddess who cures children ; and
‘ Marai Mata regulates thespread of cholera in accordance with
‘ the attentions which she receives. A heap of stones daubed
‘ with red, under a tree fluttering with rags, represents Chindia
‘ Deo, or the divinity of tatters ; if you present a rag in season
‘ you may chance to get good clothes.’ ‘ Asra is the goddess
of water inhabiting tanks, rivers and wells. She is represented
by a stone rubbed with vermilion. Chand Shah Wall, or
Chand Khan Wall as he is also called, is a Jinn who resides in
mud forts. He is enshrined m a platform over which a white
flag waves. The flag must be renewed on the day of Dasahra
by the village patel, otherwise stones are thrown on the houses
at night time by the annoyed wall and the safety of the village
is endangered. The story goes that Chand Shah Wall was a
great magician in times gone by. He used to take away the
daughter of a king for days together and nobody knew who
took her away and where she was taken. The king, therefore,
offered a great reward to the man who would detect the thief.
It is said that one aspiiant instructed the princess to
take with her some cotton and to throw its pieces on the way
while she was being thus rudely abducted. The magician
was thus traced and brought before the king who ordered
him to be buried alive in the foundation of a mud fortress. The
wizard besought the king for his life and the courtiers also
interceded for him, but the king was inexorable. As his last
prayer the magician requested that the king should do some-
thing whereby his name would be perpetuated. The king
granted his request and ordered that on every Dasahra day a
new flag should be raised near the village chawri to perpetuate
Bergr Caxetteer 1870, page 190,
RELIGION.
ng
tl’e magician’s ms nory. The tradition is reminiscent of the
Arabian Nights and even the name of the magician is typi-
cally Muhammadan ; and that the wait should have become a
Hindu god honoured at Dasahra i& but one of many instances
that might be given to show the intermingling of the lower
forms of the two faiths. The tomb of Chilam Shah Wall at
Amraoti Camp is an object of reverence to both alike ; so are
also the shrine at Uprai, the rock of Bairam, and the Makbara
of Dulha Rahman,’ the mythical headless Ghazi of Ellichpur.
In many villages of the District will be found the grave of
some local ascetic who made himself dear to the villagers.
To the Hindus he is a gum and they paint one side of his
tombstone vermilion and do pTija m his honour accordingly ;
but to the Musalmans he is ^.fw and the other side is therefore
whitewashed and covered at the Great and the Lesser Id
with a cloth of bright green.
ii^. Among Hindus the sights and occurrences of the
early morning are believed to foresha-
dow the fortunes of the day ‘ The
‘ sight of a corpse or of flesh is a lucky omen, except with
‘ L^s and Sonars. To Gosawis and Bairagis, salt, eaith
‘ and a potter are inauspicious, but not to other castes . while
‘ a Brahman with his headcloth on his head and his caste
‘ marks painted brings good luck, but if he should be encoun-
‘ tered bare-headed, misfortune is the result. A married
' woman is lucky to meet ; a widow unlucky. A pot full of
‘ water is a good thing to see ; an empty pot is not so. If a man
‘ has a twitching in his right eye the omen is good, but not so
* if it occurs in his left eye : while with the woman the case is
* reversed, A sweeper bearing nightsoil is a lucky man to
‘ meet : a Teli with an oil pot is unlucky. Should a spider
‘ cross one's hand it is a good omen, but a house lizard falling
* on one's body is bad. A single sneeze when a person is
' speaking denotes bad luck to him, but an additional sneeze
‘ will change it. A deer, blue jay, peacock, or ichneumon on
‘ the left hand side are all harbingers of good ; as are also a
' mongoose, a cow with calf, and an ox ; bat woe to the man
130 AMRWTI DISTRICT. POPULATION.
‘ whose path is crossed by a crow, a jackal, or a cat, or who
‘ hears adog howling, or an owl hooting. A wild parrot perching
‘ on the head or shoulder, the sound of joyful music, dreaming
‘ a good dream, or meeting a corpse borne by four men are
‘ all omens of good import , while a lamp falling, a man’s
‘ or a woman’s toe ring coming off, or a ringdove entering
‘ the house are events fiaught with evil consequences. If a
‘ ringdove enters the house, the occupants forsake it for three
‘ days : on the third day a cow is biought into the house, and
• food and alms are given to Brahmans, after which it is again
* habitable." If a child is born with the umbilical cord
round its neck like a halter it is believed that he ended his former
life a prisoner in some jail; the analogy to the possible
method of his last death is obvious.
1 13. When a village is threatened by an epidemic of
„ , , , choleia the people raise a public sub-
Magical ceremonies, ,
scription and purchase a he-buffalo. It
is worshipped by the village patel and taken round the village
The patel then sacrifices the animal in the name of Marai
(goddess of cholera) in the presence of all the villagers.
The head is buried on the boundary of the village. Till
the worship is complete no fire should be kindled in the
village. People will also cook their food outside the
inhabited poition of the village. Another device to avert an
epidemic of cholera is that a widow MSngni is dressed in
yellow cloth and marked with turmeric and hmhu. She is seated
in a small cart newly prepared for the occasion and taken
found the village. A spinning wheel, a winnowing fan and
similar things are placed m the cart. She is sent out of the
inhabited portion of the village and she must live in the fields
for one whole night. She is considered a Marai and the
villagers will not allow the personated Marai Mata to enter
their village. The idea in giving her a spinning wheel
and other things is to keep her engaged in domestic work and
not to allow her leisure for playing havoc in the village. A
I BerSr Census Report, 1881, page 45,
REUGICN,
I2I
method of divining whether rain will fall or not in vogue
among cultivators, especially Kunbis, is that on the day of
Akshaya-tritiya the enquirer will arrange nine clods of white
earth in the name of the asterisms and on top of the clods place
an earthen pot full of watei He worships the earthen pot in the
name of his deceased ancestor and examines the clods of earth
next day. If any of them remains diy it is believed that
in the asterism, the name of which the clod bears, there will
be no ram. But as the pot is naturally porous, the omen
has every chance of being favourable. Another device is that
on any Sunday in the month of Poush a pot full of milk and
nee is placed on fire and the direction in which the milk boils
over will be the direction from which the next monsoon should
be expected. If a river is in flood and the safety of a village
situated on its bank seems to be endangered, the patel with
his wife will go to the river and propitiate the river goddess
by the offer of turmeric, hunku, and a choU. He will then
commence measuring the waters of the flood hy pailu to cause
the flood to subside.'
1 16. The Manbhaos are a small sect of Hindus whose chief
seat and place of pilgrimage is at
The Manbhao Sect. Ritpur or Ridhpur in the Morsi taluk,
though they have also an establishment near Poona ; and the
‘ Jai Kisnya’ sect in the Punjab is said to be a branch of the
same rule. There is even, it is said, a math in Kabul. Their
first achavya is said to have been Hagdeo Bhat, who is
supposed to have been born in A.D. 1236, and the name is
also given of Kisn Bhat, the spiritual adviser of a raja who
ruled at Paithan about the middle of the fourteenth century.
His followers believe him to have been the demi-god Krishna,
returned to earth. His doctrines repudiated a multiplicity of
gods, and the hatred and contempt which he endured arose
partly from his insistence on the monotheistic principle, but
chiefly from his repudiation of the caste system, He incul-
cated the exclusive worship of Krishna as the only
I Compare our English saying, « measuring the Atlantic .with a
thimble.”
122
AMRAOTI DISTRICT. POPULATION.
incai nation of the Supreme Being, and taught his disciples to
eat with none but the initiated, and to break off all former
ties of caste and religion. Such is the legendary origin of
the order, but from recent scientific enquiries (vide Imperial
Gazetteer Vol. XXI, p. 302) it appears that the founder’s
name was Chakradhara, and that he was a Karhada Brahman
who about the middle of the 13th century was regarded as an
incarnation of Dattatreya. The oldest composition in the
Marathi language, the ‘ Lila Charitra, ’ is claimed as the work
of a member of this order. It is written in prose and is
divided into two portions, a Shruti containing lives of two
Mahants Prashanta and Chakradhara, and a Smriti containing
biographical notices of the kings of Deogin from Singhana
down to Ramchandra Yadava A.D. 12 10- 1309. There are also
other ancient Manbhao writings including an interesting account
of the religious sects prevalent in the early fourteenth century.
The head of the sect is a Mahant, with whom are associated a
number of priests. The sect is divided into two classes, celibates
and gharbans, or seculars. Celibacy is regarded as the perfect
life but matrimony is permitted to the weaker brethren. The
celibates, both men and women, shave all hair from the head
and wear clothes dyed with lamp-black. The lower garment
is a waist cloth forming a sort of skirt, and is intended to
typify devotion to the religious life and consequent indiffer-
ence to distinctions of sex. Marriage being contrary to strict
rule, they inform their gtmi and get his consent before
entering upon it. The ceremony is performed in strict
privacy inside the temple A man is wont to signify his
choice of a spouse by putting his jholi or beggar’s wallet on
hers ; if she lets it remain there, the betrothal is complete. A
woman may signify her desire by weaving a pair of garlands,
with one of which she crowns the image of Krishna, and with
the other her intended spouse. He may reject the offer if it so
pleases him. The marriage ceremony is very quiet and
unaccompanied by processions or rejoicings. Widow re-
marriage is allowed. MSnbhaos evince a great respect foi
animal life. They all quit their villages at Dasahra, on
account of the he-buffalo saorifice, and remmn m the fields
RELIGION.
123
until it is over; when questioned in respect to every-day
slaughter in towns and large villages they have no answer to
give. They will neither cut nor break down a tree, large or
small. They are prohibited from drinking foi three days of
the water of the village where a man has been murdered or
poisoned, or killed by falling down a well ; obviously a salutary
observance.
The dead are buried in salt, usually in a sitting posture though
sometimes the corpse is laid in the grave on one side with feet
to the south, head to the north and face to the east. The
Manbhaos still proselytise, but restrict their missionary efforts
to good castes. Mahars, Mangs, Chambhars, Lohars, Tehs,
Dhobis, Musalmans and some other castes low in the social
scale are excluded.
Brahmans ha^e the Manbhaos who have not only thrown
off the Brahmanical yoke themselves, but do much to oppose
Brahman influence among the villagers. The ridiculous tale
of Kisn Bhat’s magic cap by which he assumed a likeness to
the god Krishna, and of the artifice by which the cap was
taken from him bears the mark of its origin. It is possible,
of course, as has been suggested, that Kisn actually did marry
a Mang woman to show his contempt for caste, just as Luther
after renouncing his vows married a nun : but it is far more
probable that the story was invented as a basis for the spiteful
derivation of Manbhao from Mang and bhao (brother). The
name is really a corruption of Maha Anubhava (great under-
standing) and IS so spelt in all the documents of the sect. The
Manbhaos are respectable and respected and a gum is often
taken from among them in preference to a Brahman or Gosawi,
They are however a declining body numbering only 2566 in
Berar in 1901 as compared with 41 ii twenty years previously.
1 1 7. Reference has been made above to the mingling of
.. , Hindu and Muhammadan forms of faith
Worship of Shah Dawal.
among the lower classes in Berar.
The most notewortliy example of this is furnished by
the cult of Shah Dawal, Dawal, tradition says, was a
[34
aMraoti district, rcpuiation.
Mahar and Shah or Malik a Madari faklv ; they came accord-
ing to the story from Hindustan together some two hundred
years ago, and lived together like Nanak and Farid, the
Hindu and Muslim disciples of Kabir. At their death they
were buried together in the same tomb at Upraiin the Darya-
pur taluk Among Kunbis, Telis, Bhois, Dhangars and
similar castes the worship of Dawal Malik is frequenL
The custom is to pray before the shrine previous to any enter-
prise or when any gift is particularly desired. Persons wish-
ing to make a pilgrimage to the tomb of the saint dress them-
selves m a single white cloth marking its borders with red
ochre. A bottle gourd is split in two and one half serves as a
begging bowl. A wallet is also attached to two small sticks of
lev tree which are held on the shoulder. The first alms of
gram must be begged at the house of a Mahar or a Mang
with the words “ Dam, Dam, Dam Sahib ” and then only can
the worshippers receive alms from the higher castes.
Cakes are prepared from the flour of the gram so
collected. Cooked food is begged from all comers irres-
pective of caste and creed and eaten at the spot (Uprai)
where it is believed to convey no pollution. But this
is a rule which obtains also in several of the best known
Hindu temples. Indeed it would be impossible to carry on the
worship of a great shrine where all castes meet without some
such relaxation of caste observance. The worshippers put on
also iron hand-cufis and walk on foot fiom their houses to the
saints’ tomb as a mark of humility. 'ThtfaUv who officiates
as a priest at the tomb breaks them and receives a fee of five
annas for so doing ; he also gives the worshippers a drink
of jaggery and water. After return it is usual to sacrifice a
goat and give a caste feast. A Mahar after his marriage
should go With his bride to offer worship at the shrine.
11 8, Muhammadans number about 67,500 persons, and are
,, , . strongest in the towns of Amraoti,
Muhammadans. f '
Ellichpur, Paratwada, Morsi, and
Daryapur. The Vaidyas are a class of Hindu converts to
Islam, They perform the marriage ceremony secretly by
RtLlGIO^/.
1^5
walking round a marriage post and then have the nlah
pronounced by the Kazi. Momins (weavers), Satranjiwalas
(carpet-makers), Bagwans (gardeners) are all Muhammadans
but have continued their Hindu endogamous groups.
They will on no account marry outside their circle and
retain still a few Hindu marriage customs. These are all
low classes of Muhammadans and will not eat food cooked
by a Teli, Dhobi, oi Lohai. They will also throw away their
earthen pots if touched by a member of these castes. Beef
also is not eaten.
1 19. Of the eight hundred thousand persons in the District
at the last census, 1127 were Christians,
Christians. being natives of India and the rest
Europeans and Eurasians. The Church of Rome c'aims the
greater proportion of these having 626 members of whom no
less than 580 are natives, the Anglican Communion coming
second with a total of 323, of whom 70 are natives, though
there is no definitely Anglican mission. The Presbyterians and
Methodists have 38 converts each, the former having 4 and the
latter 3 other followers , there are eleven Baptists, of whom
six are natives. No other sect is found, though 63 persons
of whom 52 are natives have not returned a denomination
and should probably be placed to the credit of the Korku and
Alliance Missions, both undenominational bodies, who account
also for many of the converts to the Church of England.
As the Church of Rome is by far the most successful in the
Distiict so also it was the earliest to commence work, the
Rev. Father Thevenet having visited Ellichpur in 1848,
before the province came under British Administration. He
was the pioneer of Christianity throughout Berar and m the
neighbouring portions of the Nizam’s dominions and the
Central Provinces ; and his labours continued for nearly
forty years. At the present day the Mission is under the
Roman Catholic Bishop of Nagpur and comprises four
parishes in Berar, all of which have their headquarters in this
District ; namely Chikalda, Ellichpur, Amraoti and Badnera.
The priests, of whom there are six, belong to the order of St*
126 AMfeAGl*! DISTRICT. tOPULAtlCK.
Francis of Sales, and are mainly drawn from the diocese of
Annecy in France. The onginal centre for Berar was Akola,
but in 1874 Father Thevenet built a Chapel dedicated to St.
Francis Xavier and bungalow at Amraoti, and in 18S4 the
headquarters were moved here. In 1886 representations
having been made to Father Thevenet of the need for a school
for European children, the Convent of Daughters of the Cross
was opened. The Chapel has been enlarged to a Church of
imposing dimensions and there is a fine convent building
and a presbytery. The Sisters maintain a European school
teaching up to the Final Standard for boys and to the
Middle Standard for girls with 48 pupils, and a native school
with 23 pupils, also an orphanage for native girls, a school
in the city for high caste girls and dispensaries for the poor.
They greatly distinguished themselves both in the famine of
1900 and by the prominent part they took in combating the
great outbreak of plague at Amraoti in 1903 and they visit
various other places in the District, especially Badnera,
Elhchpur and Chikalda, where they have a branch station,
There is a Church of St. John the Evangelist at
Badnera, the priest of which place also visits Akola, Shegaon
and various other stations both in and out of Berar. At
Elhchpur there is a church of the Sacred Heart and the head-
quarters of a Mission amongst the Mahars of this and
neighbouring Districts ; a namesake and nephew of the first
Father Thevenet is in charge. It was from Elhchpur in 1874
that attempts were made to evangelize the Korkus, but these
failed and it was not till 1899 when the mission had been
established at Chikalda for three years that the gieat famine
gave the Fathers a second chance. A few families and soma
orphans were then gathered together and formed into a
village of about 160 souls to which the name of Marianpur
was given. A Chapel of Saint Ann was consecrated. The
first efforts however at the evangelization of the Korkus had
been not by a missionary but by an officer of Government
Mr. J. Mulheran, who about i860 was deputed to make a
survey of the Melghat and to report on its inhabitants,
puring his tour he used freely to preach to the jungle tribes ;
feELIGlON.
127
and he appealed to the bishop of Calcutta to despatch a
missionary for the work. However, before his appeal could be
met, he died suddenly. In 1870 the Rev. H. Haden and his
brother were appointed but stayed only a short time, being
relieved in 1874 by the Rev. H, Norton. A shoit sketch of the
Korkus as well as a Korku grammar and several translations
into that tongue were compiled by the Rev. E. F. Ward, who
settled at Ellichpur in 1885. In 1889 the Korku and Central
India Hill Mission, organized by the energies of Lieut. -Colonel
Oldham (of the Hyderabad Contingent) took over from the
Rev. A. Norton the work which he had carried on since
1874. The mission is not sectarian, its preachers being
laymen drawn from the English, Lutheran and other commu-
nions. It did excellent work in the famine of 1896-97 and
was specially praised in the Commissioner’s famine report.
As a permanent legacy from the famine there remained
j orphanages and a leper asylum. The latter remains and the
former have been consolidated into two, one for boys at
Khudawandpur near Ellichpur, and the other for girls at
Chikalda. Primary schools have been opened and an- Indus-
trial school at Khudawandpur in which carpentry, smith’s work
and tailoring are taught. The mission has also branches at
Ghatang, Dharni and Duni as well as in the Betul District.
The Christian and Missionary Alliance is an American
Society which has been in the District for about fifteen years
and has stations at Amraoti, Chandur and Daryapur. Like the
Korkh Mission it is non-sectarian. The United Free Church
of Scotland has a mission whose headquarters are in Wardha
under the Revd. D. Revie, It is chiefly remarkable in Berar for
the honourable part which 'ordained converts have played in its
work. The founders were the Rev. Narayan Sheshadri, D.D,,
and the Rev. Sidoba Misal, the latter of whom settled in
Amraoti about 1870, where he was succeeded in 1888 by the
Rev. Timothy Sheoram ; and in 1906 the Rev. P. A. Yardi
was ordained. The last report shows 54 baptized Christians ,*
an increase of 10 since the censusj and there is a primary
school for boys with 130 pupils and for girls with 30.
Amraoti is in the Anglican dioeeee of Nagpur, and the
AXfR^Otl DISTRICT. ^■0PUL4tl0^f.
Chaplain of Berar has his headquarters here with outstalions
at Badnera, Chikalda and Ellichpur. There are churches at
Amraoti and Ellichpur and Government cemeteries at these
two places and at Chikalda and Badnera,
170 . The most numerous castes in the District are Kunbls
_ , . who constitute 24 per cent, of the
Principal castes . ,
population, Mahais 14 per cent, and
Mails 9 per cent The cultivating castes are the Kunbls»
Marathas, Mahs, Gaolis, Bans, Tehs and a few Dhangars and
others. The titles of Deshmukh and Deshpandia are borne by
families who held pargana or subpargana revenue offices under
native rule. The latter are generally Brahmans, but the
former are almost coming to be regarded as a separate caste ;
and it IS quite usual for a man on being asked his caste to
reply not Maratha or KunbI or Mali but simply Deshmukh,
the historic title conveying more distinction than the common-
place terras of every day. The primitive tribes are represented
by the Gonds (23,245), Korkus (27,051) and Kolis (G903).
Sonars number 9589 and Sutars 9628. Chambhars (9193),
Mahais (105,306) and Mangs (17,325) are out-castes and
their touch is considered by higher classes of Hindus
to convey pollution. The descriptions which follow are
founded on information supplied by members of these
castes. They vary in some respects from other published
accounts ; but how far the differences are due to real local
variations or to the ignorance or prejudice of the informants
it IS impossible to say, ^
121. Brahmans number about 21,500 persona or 3 per
cent of the population. Though not
Brahman strong numerically yet they are
by far the most influential caste owing to their hereditary
priestly influence. Of the Maratha Brahmans the majority
are Deshasthas, although a considerable minority belong to the
Konkanastha and Karhada divisions. The word Deshastha
literally means residents of the country and the name is given
CASTE.
129
to the Brahmans of that part of the Deccan which lies above
the Ghats. Most of the Deshasthas pursue secular professions
and are writers, accountants, merchants, etc. The poats of
village patwans are almost monopolised by them. As their
name indicates, the original home of the Konkanasthas is the
Konkan or the narrow strip of low-lying country from Broach
to Ratnagiri, between the Ghats and the sea. The immigration
of Konkanasthas into Berar probably dates from the time
of the Konkanastha Peshwas (1714-1818) whom they followed
as accountants, clerks, etc. They are also known as
Chitpavan or Chittapavan, the story being told that
Parasuram, enraged at the ungrateful conduct of the Brahmans
of his day who refused to attend the shmddha of his father,
provided himself with Brahmans by restoring to life some
corpses which he found floating on the sea off the Konkan
coast aftei a shipwreck. The story is indignantly denied
by many modern Chitpavans as it is thought that the part
played m it by a corpse is an insult to the dignity of the
caste ; but the fair, sometimes almost ruddy complexions, blue
eyes, and light hair which are their distinguishing features,
seem to point to some such arrival fiom overseas. The
Karhada Brahmans are so called from Karhad, a town at the
meeting of the Krishna and Koyna livers. Another suggested
explanation of the name is that it refers to the mountain
country ; the high summits which separate the home of the
Kokanastha Brahmans on one side from the tableland of the
Deshasthas on the other. The Karhadas are charged with
having in former times offered human sacrifice, and even the
murder of Brahmans to propitiate their deities. The accusation
is said by them to be an invention of some Deshastha
Brahman, Whatever room there may be for comment on the
religion of the KarhSdas, they are quite equal to the
Kokanasthas and Deshasthas in every other respect. Besides
the above three divisions which m practice are endogamous,
the Maratha Brahmans are divided into Rigvedls and
Yajurvedls who eat together but do not intermarry. The
Yajurvedls are the followers of the white Yajus and are
further subdivided into two branches, called Kanvas and
t 30 AMRAOTI DISTRICT. POPULATION.
Madhyandinas, The Kanvas are so called on account of their
adopting the Kanva recension of the white Yajus. The
Madhyandinas derive their name in the same manner fiom
the Madhyandina branch of the white Yajus. They attach gi eat
importance to the recital of the Sandhya prayer at noon, t e.
after ii am. But the Rigvedls might perform the mid-day
prayer even at sunrise As a class the Maratha Brahmans are
well-to-do, their abilities leading them to success in almost every
profession. Hindustani (or Pardesi) and Gujarati Brahmans
are also met with. The former are generally employed
as office peons or in similar unskilled wotk, and the latter as
traders. In the villages the Brahman’s exclusiveness is natui •
ally modified. Biahman patwaris aie more or less subordinate
to Kunbi patels, and they with the schoolmasters and others in
small villages, if they wish for any but the most limited society,
must seek it among castes considerably lowei than their own
132 . Rajputs number 12,673 persons and constitute a
Rajput population. The
Rajputs of Berar may be divided into
two classes (i) those who are originally of foreign origin
having come here before the Assignment to take military
service with one or other of the petty powers who infested
the land ; and (2) those who have assumed the name of
Rajputs, but are really of humbler birth. Bais Rajputs occur
in every taluk, being most plentiful m Chandur and Darya-
pnr. Their original home is Baiswara in Oudh. The Rathor
Rajputs are most numerous in the Amraoti and Ellichpur
taluks, and come chiefly from Marwar, The Rajputs are
mainly engaged in cultivation.
123. The Wani or Bania castes, like the Rajputs, are chiefly
, . „ _ of foreign Qiigtn. They number 16,264
Wani or Banu. ® ^ c ttt
or 2 per cent, of the population. Warns,
being strangers m the land, aie generally distinguished among
Beraris by the name of their country or their sect. Hence
such entries in the Census Lists as Marwari or Gujarati on the
one hand j and Lingayat or Jam on the other, The WSuig
CASTE,
I3I
are the chief traders in Berar. The village Wanl is a much
abused individual but he is as a rule a quiet peaceable man,
a necessary factor in the village economy. They are as a
class respectable members of society and a large amount
of commercial wealth passes through their hands,
124, The Kunbis number 193,255 or 24 per cent, of
the population, They are overwhelm-
ingly the most important caste in the
Distiict, and the Kunbi has come to be the accepted type
of all Maratha cultivators. He is in the apt words of the
Nagpur Settlement Report “ a most patient plodding mortal
with a cat-like affection for his land ” and the majority of
agricultural holdings are still in possession of Kunbis, Their
husbandry though careful and good of its kind is extremely
conservative and they are more chary than most castes of
accepting new ideas. One may occasionally find a wealthy
Kunbi who has taken to moneylending, and they are seldom
seen in complete poverty, even though always ready to resort
to the moneylender,
Though now a peaceable folk they have furnished even in
recent times very daring dacoils, and one sometimes sees it
suggested that in old days the armies of Shivaji and of the
Peshwas and Bhonslas were recruited mainly from Kunbis and
similar castes who took to a warlike life , and that this is the
origin of the Maratha caste. However this may be, a
similar process is even now going on for the Tiroles,
the highest division of Kunbis, to which most of the
Deshmukhs and many of the leading patels belong, are
to-day on the borderland between the two castes. One rung
of the ladder of social advancement is to provide oneself with
a Rajput origin, and the Marathas accordingly claim to be
Kshattriyas while the Tiroles derive their name from Therol in
Rajputana. But the ordinary Kunbi is confessedly a Sudra, and
the pretensions just described are regarded with extreme
suspicion both by pure Rajputs and by the BrShmans who are
the ultimate arbiters, In religion the KunbJ is a worshipper
AMRA.OTI DISTRICT. POPULATION.
133
of Maroti, Mahadeo, Ganpati and Vithoba, but especially of
the first -named. He is also a firm believer in the efficacy
of omens and of all manner of forms and ceremonies and goes
in great dread of ghosts.
125. The Gaolls number 16,353 and constitute 2 per cent,
Gao'i population. The Lingayat Gaolis
are found in the taluks of Amraoti,
Morsi, Elhchpur and Chandur and are subdivided into
Nagarkar and Wazarkar divisions. Among the Wazarkar
Gaolls the bridegroom is brought to the village of the bride
and married there. It is customary among them to marry
some twenty or thirty couples under one mandwa at one and
the same time, possibly from motives of economy,
126. Dhangars number 17,826 persons constituting 2 per
Dhangar population. They are here-
ditary herdsmen corresponding to the
Gadarias of Northern India, and ranking socially below Kunbis,
Gaolls, and similar castes. Their highest subcaste known
as Bang! Dhangars have now developed into a separate caste
called Hatkar or Hatgar. The Ain-i-Akbarl calls them ‘ an
indigenous race for the most part proud and refractory.’ They
were in military employ and therefore claim a higher status
than Dhangars. At a Dhangar marriage a Brahman officiates
and the ceremony is performed after the Maiatha litual.
On the third day of marriage they boil wheat and serve it to the
assembled guests. This is called Pmch,^ai, They bury their
dead with leaves of akcw plant strewn OAmr the face of the
corpse, but those who die in a specially honouiable way, a
woman in childbirth or a man in battle, are burned after the
manner of high caste Hindus, Each caste fellow is expected
to bring some cooked food to the mourner's house, and when all
have assembled they will take food with him. On the eleventh
day a caste feast is given. The momner seats himself on the
ground and each guest should diop a pice m his lap. The pice
are counted and the number of guests is roughly ascertained
as the basis for preparing food. This ceiemony is called Vahii.
'Ifhey sometimes clnim Khandoba or Khande Rao, the chief
CA^=tE.
I3i
who overcame Malli, and Mani, the oppressors of the
Brahmans, as their caste-man and piogenilor. They have a
special ceremony called Van in the month of Poush, The
image of Khandoba is placed in a brass plate and the Dhangars
all in a body beg alms from other people of their village.
Cakes are pi epared from flour of the grain received in alms
and the spirit of Khandoba takes possession of one of them
who exhibits the usual signs of demonolepsy especially that of
unnatural strength. The caste has a tribal council headed by
an elder called Mehtar. At the time of mariiage a mark
should be affixed to his forehead as a token of respect He is
entitled to receive a sum of three oi four annas at every mar-
riage and should give in return a caste feast once a year. It is
said that a Dhangar will not scruple to eat the carcase of
his sheep or goat dying a natural death. It will be a pollution
for him to sit on a camel or a creaking swing or to we^r shoes
which may touch the ankles of his feet. This caste is traditional-
ly held to be most successful in the education of its watch dogs.
The pups are taken from the mother and suckled by an ewe,
which at first is held down and soon takes to them as to its own
offspring. The dog when grown never leaves the flock, nor
does it shrink from defending it against the attack of any
animal.
127. The Kork-Qs are of Kolarian origin and are strongly
Korku represented in the District. In language
and general type they are said to be
identical with the Kols and Santals ; but the habits of the
Korkns of the Tapti valley, says Forsyth, are a great advance
on those of the Korkns inhabiting the Mahadeo hills further
east. The KoikQs who first came to Berar found the Nihals
in possession of the Melghat hills. Gradually the latter caste
lost their power and became the village drudges of the former.
The Nihals are now fast losing their language also , the younger
generation speak Korku or Marathi. The Nihals were once
much addicted to cattle lifting, but they have held this propensity
in check of late years. The Korkns are divided into the
following classes:— Mawasi or Bhowavaya, Bawana, BUma
^34
AMRAOTl blSTRlrt, POPULATIOl^.
and Bondoyas. The term Mowas signifies the troubled country,'
and the subcaste ranks the highest probably on account of the
gentlemanly calling of armed robbery formerly practised by its
members. The names of the other subcastos also seem to be
territorial but their exact meanings are not known. They
have also goivas, the story running that their ancestois were
assembled by the gods and that to each was assigned the name
of the object — animal, tiee oi whatever it might be— near
which he took up his position. Another tale is that the Korkus
were defeated in a great battle and that the objects in question
are those behind which they succeeded in hiding themselves.
In either case the legend is a typical example of the way m
which totemistic clan names have been clothed in a Hindu
respectability. ‘I believe,’ says Mr. Ballantyne, once a
Forest Officer in the Melghat, ‘ that the KorkQs were originally
* worshippers of the sun and moon , their most solemn oath is
* by the sun and in the act of worship they turn their faces
‘ towards it, and point to it with their hands. But now-a-days
' their whole creed is so much tainted with Hinduism that their
‘ original beliefs are well nigh lost.’ In support of this opinion it
may be mentioned that the Korkh word for god (Gomaj) is also
the word for sun and moon j and that on the side of their
memorials to the dead which faces east they invariably carve a
representation of those bodies. Mi. Ward, indeed, who spent
many years as a missionary in these lulls and was one of the
few who have made a detailed study of their inhabitants, is
far more categorical. ‘Their chief obj'ects of worship,’ he
says, ‘are the- sun and moon whom they regard as male and
‘ female deities. But they do not, so far as I have been able
‘ to learn, offer regular or special worship to those celestial
‘ bodies. Once in a great while, however, in the month of
‘ April, a goat or a fowl is sacrificed to the sun while the face
‘is turned to the east.’ ‘As a whole,’ he continues, ‘their
‘ particular hopes and fears seem to he in the direction of “the
' local deities nearer at hand. They build no temples nor
" The derivation is not by any means certain , a less complimentary
theory connects the word with the mabua tree, whose flowers form an
item of KorUCi food and whose hqtior they are given to consuming lather
freely.
CASTE,
135
‘ fashion images, after the manner of the Hindus but daub red
‘ paint on certain stones in or about the village and the adjacent
‘ forest, and endow them with the names of their divinities.
‘ Thus Dongav gomaj, god of the hills and forests; Kulla gomcij,
‘ god of the tiger ; Mntiya gomaj, special village god or penates ;
‘ Havdcll gomaj, the choleia god ; Mata goma/, goddess of small
* pox , besides PdncU gomai, Kur gomai and the Hindu god
‘ Hanuman.’ Many ot those are but Korku names for deities
that have been adopted by the low caste Hindu in other parts
of India , K7tUa gomaj for instance is simply WdgJi deo ; and
Mata gomaj, Mavai Md'a , the Hindu god Mahadeo tends more
and more to fill the principal place in the Korkii theogony.
As a rule the Korkus buiy their dead. ‘ A year or so after the
‘ decease of a person of note, a ceremony called sxdoll is per-
* formed which much resembles the Irish custom of waking
‘ the dead. A memorial post is carved the next day and planted
‘ under a mahua tree where those in memory of the same kin or
‘ got (Hind, goim) have been planted before. These posts are
* called in the Korkd language mmtdd ; are two to three feet in
‘ height and about 6 inches square at the base. They are always
‘ pointed at the top, often arrow headed and usually rudely but
‘ elaborately carved on the four sides. The carvings consist
‘ of representations of the sun and moon, men on horseback,
‘ dancers, apes, peacocks, fowls, crabs, spiders and trees, besides
' zig zag scrawls, scollops, flutings and cuneiform cuts.’ With
the exception of the man on horseback which may be an
emblem of the sun, Mr. Ward finds no special significance j in
any of these figures. It is believed, however, that they may be
a record by totems of the family and ancestry of the deceased.
The post itself is suggestive of phallic worship, and the rude
cut of the sun and moon is not without its significance in this
connection. The Korkus are also worshippers of the dead
(ancestors Piiay) ; and the ceremony above referred to as sidoff
appears to be one also known by the name of pkdjBgnV and to
be intended more as a species of ghostdaying than anything else.
The ceremony has all the usual accompaniments of primitive
necromancy, the elaborate formalism by which, for instance, five
* the Word is conneoted with the verb to Wake,
136 AMfeAOTI DISTRICT, POPULATION,
bits of bamboo or five crabs’ legs repiesent the dead man’s
limbs. It probably varies veiy much from village to
village according to the fancy of the local Bhumka and
dancing and intoxication are the only unaltering elements
in the performance. The following account' of the Korkus
by Mr. P. S. Agnihotri, formerly Clerk of Court in Ellich-
pur, is sufficiently interesting to be quoted at length. ‘ They
‘ are ugly in appearance, (though with rare exceptions) and
‘ in their manner less sophisticated than the people of Berar,
‘ their language is Korku but Hindi is also common among
' them. Their villages are built in two equal rows flanking a
‘ straight street, and are placed half a mile or more away from
‘ water. They wear very dirty clothes , sometimes only a dhoU,
' and a rag on the head ; and the poorest keep a fire in their
' houses beside which, when they have cooked and eaten their
‘ food, they lie down to sleep at night, wearing nothing but a
‘ Imgoil : their women also wear such langoils and sleep close
* to the fire. In a large family, when the food is leady, they
‘ sometimes divide it into equal poitions, but they have also a
‘ custom by which it is placed in a heap m their midst, and they
‘ sit with their backs to it each reaching out a hand behind him
‘ for what he requires without looking at it. They are flesh-
‘ eaters but will not touch cocks or sparrows ; in spite of the
‘ uncertainty of their food they are stronger and stouter than
' the people of the plains. They do not, like the Beraris,
* protect their crops with a fencmg of thorns, or by throwing
‘ stones from a sling ; but camp out in the open till the corn is
‘ ready for use. They sunound their fields with bamboo
‘ matting and think to frighten away wild beasts with scare-
' crows of rags and wood placed at intervals. They build high
‘ platforms in their fields with roofs called molds and in these
‘ they live, lighting a fire there and cooking their food. In the
‘ middle of the field, two logs of wood tied together with small
‘ pieces of bamboo between them, and worked by a rope, are
' made to give a clapping noise and to scare wild animals.
* After the threshing is over they take the corn to
* Freely translated from the Marathi,
CASTE,
137
' Villages and give it to the money-lenders in return for money
‘ borrowed at the rate of 24 or 32 seers of corn to the rupee
‘ (te. 100 to 150 per cent, interest). Sometimes this money bad
‘ only been lent two months before the harvest ; and thus the
‘ moneylenders get the whole crop into their possession and
‘ the Korkn seldom keeps more than a two or three months’
‘ supply. Few Korkns are rich, and those few in stores of
‘ corn rather than in money. Their system of heaping
‘ kadba, etc,, m the fields diffeis from that of Berar where it is
‘ stacked close to the village and a thorn hedge put round it ;
‘ the Korkns store it on a platform in their fields resembling a
‘ ma^a. Outside the village one may find a hut with some
' painted logs thrust in the ground , these are their gods. They
‘ worship also the goddess Devi, and offer to her rice, lemons
‘ and wild flowers with cooked meat , a goat is her sacrifice ;
‘ and at night also in their houses they worship her. On the
‘ third day of the month Ashvin a great festival begins. They
‘ assemble together by night, and some dance and sing. Pre-
‘ sently one of their number becomes possessed by a spiiit; he
‘ trembles and breathes heavily, the hair of his head stands up
‘ and his look grows wild. The inspiring deity is BaMl (a
‘ demon) or ghoiiiig. Next, anyone afflicted with giief or pain
' asks the possessed a remedy therefor. The latter takes some
‘ juar or rice in his hand and thiows over him, uttering incanta-
‘ tions ; the sufferer picks up the grains. After this has been done
‘ two or three times, he is told to retiie, and the man possessed
‘ presently falls headlong to the ground and the god leaves
‘ him. At holiday time the people of the village assemble
‘ together and dance, singing Korku songs, beating on a drum
‘ called dJwlM and blowing a pipe called puugi. Their women
* too assemble together in one place for the dance. They wear
< each two or three brass anklets on their feet and to the clang
‘ of these they keep step. The dholkl beater stands in the
‘ midst and they dance round. Another man stands by playing
' the pmgif and both men and women adorn themselves with
‘ bunches of wild flowers in their ears. As in Berar they
‘ have a custom by which the bridegroom lives with and
' ivorks for his father-in-law; and such a bridegroom is called
,38
AMRAOXi DISTRICT, POPULATION,
* lamjhana. After a fixed period, sometimes twelve years,
‘ IS over, he marries the woman for whom he has worked, but
‘ even within that time while he lives in her father’s house,
‘ he is allowed the rights of a husband. If a man marries a
' woman without sei vmg for her then he or his father gives
‘ to hei fat her an ox as well as a sum of money agreed
‘ upon. This gift is called peja. In like manner if a
' Korku woman is found to be living with a man of
‘ another caste, ten or twenty of her caste fellows will go to
‘ his house and demand pejtf, , and will beat him if they do
‘ not get it. If a woman not known to be of loose character
‘ should lapse from virtue, she is taken by the panch to a river
* is rubbed with cowdung and urine, washed in the river and
‘ shaved. Then when her father or husband has provided a
‘ caste dinner and much liquor has been drunk, she is again
‘ considered clean.’
Among them the village priest is expected to ward off and
cure diseases, and to defend them from wild beasts. If a
tiger come near the place, he indents on the villagers for a
he-buffalo, or a cock, and a few small iron nails. At
midnight he goes round the village boundary, with one hand
leading the animal, and in the other carrying the nails. These
he drives into the ground, and sacrifices the victim. This rite
ought, he considers, to keep off the tiger for a whole year. The
power of magic they hold to be imparted by a tree of knowledge.
The aspirant takes counsel with other wise men and then bathes,
a very unusual observance among Korlcus. After this he
wanders alone in the jungle for three days and nights, plucking
leaves from the trees with his teeth, after the manner of a goat.
Among the trees are serpents ; if he fears them, or put forth
his hand, he will surely die. But if his faith and courage fail
not, he will light upon the tree of knqwledge. Then he returns
to his village, bathes and offers a goat. Thus until his teeth
drop out he becomes endowed with the power of magic.
128. The impure castes are Mahar, Maiig and Chambhar.
Im ureolflsse* religion as might be
expected survives more markedly among
Caste.
15^
these castes than among those higher in the social scale,
although the Brahmans have impressed the mark of their creed
upon the more important occasions of life. The auspicious day
for marriage is asceitained from the village Joshi, a Brahman,
who receives a fee for his information. And although some
peculiar custom may here and theie be kept up, as when a
Mahar bridegioom drops a ring into a bowl of water, which
the bride picks out and wears, or when a Chambhar bride
twice 01 thrice opens a small box which hei future spouse each
time smartly shuts again, still the ceremony is conducted as far
as possible accoiding to the ordinary Hindu iites. Fuithermore
as the Joshi will not come to the marriage it can only take
place on the same day as a marriage among some higher castes,
so that the Mahars may watch for the priest’s signal and may
know the exact moment at which the dividing cloth (antappai)
should be withdrawn, and the garments of the bride and bride-
groom knotted, while the bystanders clap their hands and
pelt the couple with coloured gram.
129. Mahars or Dheds number 105,300 persons constituting
14 per cent, of the population. They
^ChamblAr® are divided, they say, into “ twelve and
a half ” subcastes, each of which is
endogamous. Of these, one division is called Somas or
Somavanshi, and claims to have taken part with the PSndavas
against the Kauravas in the war of Mah 5 ,bharata and subse-
quently to have settled in the Maharashtra. After the Somas
Mahars other important divisions aie the Ladwan or Ladsi,
the Andhwan, the Baone and the Kosie The word Baone
is sometimes said to be a corruption of Bhawani, and the sept
claims to rank highest among the caste. As a hahUiav
on the village establishment the Mahar holds a post of
great importance to himself and convenience to the village.
The knowledge gained in his oiBcial position renders him
a referee on matters affecting the village boundaries and
customs. To the patel, patwarl and the big men of the village
he acts often as a personal servant and errand rtinner, for a
small cultivator he will also at times carry a tofeh or act as
14a
Am 1?A0T1 DISTSlCt. POPULATloi^.
escort. To the latter class however the Mahar is an indirect
rather than a direct boon, inasmuch as his presence saves them
from the liability of being called upon to render the patel or
the village personal service. For the services which he thus
renders as pmdyaimv the Maliar receives from the cultivators
certain grain dues. When the cut juari is lying in the field the
Mahars go round and beg for a measure of the ears, bhlkpatU,
But the regular payment is made when the gram has been
threshed, A chief duty performed by Mahars is the remoi al
of the carcases of dead animals. The flesh is eaten and the
skin retained as a wage for the work. The patel and his
relatives however usually claim to have the skins of their
animals returned; and in some places where half of the
agriculturists of the village claim kinship with the patel, the
Mahars feel and resent the loss. The village Mahars take
a prominent position in the Dasahra saciifice (see page 151).
The Ladsi Mahars also called Bunkars in the Eilichpur
tahsil, are worshippers of ShSh Dawal, the Baones of Narayan
Deo, and the Kosres of Chand Shah Wali. A Ladsi or a Kosre
Mahar will be polluted if a dog or a donkey dies at his house.
He will have to thiow away the earthen pots of his house and
provide a caste feast before readmission into the caste. A
Baone Mahar will be similarly outcasted if a cat enters his
house and he will have to undergo the same penalties , and
the Somavanshi hai e a corresponding aversion to pigs. The
women of Somas Mahars draw the end of their lugdd over the
right shoulder, those of Ladsi over the left. The women of Somas
and Baone have glass bangles on both hands but those of Ladsi
and Kosre have glass bangles on the left hand and katkil
bracelets {mdtJias) on the light ,hand. Ladsi and Kosre women
will not wear nose-rings while those of Somas and Baone
have them.
Mangs number 17,325 or a per cent, of the population, The
subdivisions in the caste are Ghatole hailing from Melghat,
Punglwalas who play on the fife and Daphlewalas on the
tomtom. The Beran Mangs make baskets of bamboo and
use a knife knowiJ as the hMl while the Dakhanl Mangs
CASTE.
141
will not touch this knife, and work with date-palm leaves.
Mangs are socially inferioi to Mahars, whose food they can
eat. They eat the leavings of other people. They beg during
an eclipse. Rahu the demon who swallows the moon and
thus causes her eclipse and his companion Ketu were both
Mangs, and it is to appease them that grain is given to their
caste men. A Mang is the born enemy of the village Mahar
whose grain dues are many times his own and are much
more certain of collection and who disdains to beat the drum
in his funeral procession.
The Chambhars are a leather working caste, their number
in the District being about 9200 or 1 per cent, of the popula-
tion. The Harale (or Marathe) Chambhars claim the
highest rank. When Maha Muni’s supply of hides ran short
Haralya, the primeval Chambhar, rather than disappoint
Mahadeo, stripped off a piece of Ins own skin to make the
god shoes withal In religion they are devoted to Mahadeo,
whom they worship on a Sunday in the month of ShrSwan.
The sadhi who acts as their guru, makes a visitation once in
every four or five years.
The other impoitant divisions are the Mochls of northern
origin and the Dabgars. The Dabgars are tanners and
formerly used to prepare the receptacles for storing g/w. The
Harale Chambhar dyes leather, and makes shoes, mots"^ and
paJihah.’^ He will not use untanned leather, nor will he work
for Mahars, Mangs, Jingars, or Rolls. If one of these buy
a pair of shoes from him he asks no indiscreet questions
but he will not mend the pair as he would for a man of
higher caste.
130. The most common criminal castes of the District are
Criminal tribes. Bhamtas, Mang-
Garodis and Talcaris , though Banjaras,
Ramosis and many other wanderers of doubtful reputation
are also met with. These classes at least have a bad
■ A mot is the large leathern bucket and funnel used for drawing
water from a well.
* A pa/tm IS a waterman's goat-skm m which he carries water.
143 AMRAOTI DISTRICT, POPULATION,
reputation, but in many cases their propensity to crime
has decreased, if not vanished, and they have settled down
to respectable callings. Pardhis' are frequently classed
with Takaris (Takenkais) as if they were a tribe of much the
same kind but are now quite distinct. Pardhis have two sub-
divisions, Phans Pardhis and Langotl Paidhis. The Phans
Pardhis take their name from the Phans (noose) which they
use in catching birds and animals. They lead a nomadic life
and live under tents. They do not normally commit crime,
The Langotl Paidhis derive their name from wearing the
langotl (a strip of cloth about two feet long and six or eight
inches broad, passed between the legs and the ends tucked in
to a waist-band before and behind) because ot their fear
that a dhoti if worn might become soiled and therefore
unlucky. The Langotl Paidhis are also called Gaon Pardhis
and are further subdivided into Chauhan, Ponwar and
and Solanki, all three being names of well-known Rajput
clans. As a rule they marry girls from another class, thus a
Chauhan would marry a Ponwar girl and so on. In religion,
besides worshipping their ancestois, they worship goddesses
who are now identified with the Hindu goddess Devi but who
are known m the caste by different names. Chauhans worship
Amba, Ponwars worship Marai Mata, and Solank'Ts Kali or
Kalanka. The pipal tiee is held specially sacred. The
chief religious ceremony at which many gather together, is
Deo Karia which is performed in the month of Chait. The
idol of Kalanka Bhawani is taken to a tree two or three miles
from a village and placed with its face to the east. In front of
it a fire-place of eaith is made, on which wheaten cakes or
sweetmeats are prepared m a large fry-pan. These are taken
barehanded out of the boiling oil by any Pardhi who is posses-
sed by the goddess. A young buffalo or a goat is brought to
the spot and stabbed in the left side of the neck , the idol
is besmeared with the blood which spouts out, and the
worshippers then taste it themselves. The animal is then
killed, To the north of the idol a small mound is raised, On
1 Reference, Mr. Sewell, D,S. P, of Amraoti, Appendix I to Ken-
nedy's Cn'tninal Tribes,
CASTfi,
143
the third day, by which the flesh has all been eaten, the skull
of the animal is placed on the mound, glil and country liquor
is poured on it, and fire is applied. This burnt offering
closes the ceremony These are the meetings at which
ways and means for committing crime are discussed as
well as caste disputes settled, and results of past offences
related. In committing burglary they do not take any
piide in the hole they make, nor have they any paiticular
mode of breaking through walls fiom which the work
could be recognised as theirs. They sometimes will dig
nearly through a wall, leaving only a thin partition against
which the leader will carefully listen before finally bursting
through. Then when a hole is made big enough to get
through, the leader strikes a match which he holds between
fingei and thumb, with his fingers stretched out so as to form
a shade, and holding this in front of him so that his features
are shielded, he has a good survey of the room before entering.
PSrdhis do not as a rule injuie the people they attack in com-
mitting dacoity. If all goes well and the victims give no
trouble, then they do not hurt them, but they are quite ready
and if people resist, they will not hesitate to beat them. If
an accomplice reveals the names of others he is outcasted and it
is said that he can only be admitted into the caste on drinking
a little of his wife’s urine. The penalty for nearly every
offence is a fine of so much liquor ; that resulting from a man's
sin is drunk by men and that paid up by the women is drunk
by the women. The lobe of the left ear of both men and
women guilty of adultery is cut with a razor. A Pardhi
guilty of sexual intercourse with a prostitute is punished as
if he had committed adultery. Like all such people Pardhis
have their ordeals and omens. One test is as follows. An
accused person having taken oath is told to take out a rupee and
a knife from a vessel of water placed within a space marked
off with a circle called a hund. He delivers these to the
pancJi, There is no direct manifestation, but if the man be
guilty he will be afraid to touch the loiife as his conscience
tells him the goddess will punish him if he does. Another test
ig for the accused to take a knife and going into water up to
144
AMRAOTI DISTRICT, POPULATION.
his chest or neck to take the oath of the goddess. Vet another
is for two men to stand within circles drawn in the sand of a
river bank and about seven bamboos distance from one an.
other. Accused stands near one of them while a friend goes
into the water. Accused touches one man and runs to the
other, touches him and returns. When the accused touches
the first man the friend dives under water and if he can remain
below the surface till accused finishes the run, the latter is
judged as innocent, but if not, then he is guilty ; accused is
then expected to vomit blood and die. There is also the ordeal
of the red-hot axe-head. If a woman is suspected of adultery
some pipal leaves are placed on her hand and a red hot axe
on them. If she is burnt, or refuses to stand the test she is
pionounced guilty. A favourite omen with them is the simple
device of taking some rice oi juari in the hand and counting
the grains. An even number is lucky , an odd number is un-
lucky. If dissatisfied with the first result a second or a third
pinch is taken and the grains counted. A winnowing basket
or a mill stone falling to the right when dropped on the
ground is lucky, as is also a flower falling on the right side
from the garland with which they crown their goddess. The
Phans Pardhis never use the railway ; and are forbidden the
use of any conveyance whatever. The Gaon Pardhis are
polluted if their women happen to thiow their lugdas on the
roof of their house. They generally keep an earthern pot for
washing clothes and any cattle touching this pot are polluted
and must be sold away or given in chanty at once. It is said
that Chauhan women will not ride in a cart, drink liquor or
wear red cloth. Ponwar women may not ride in a cart, but
may drink liquor ; and they will not touch gold or eat anything
which lives in water.
;^3r.Bhamtis or Bhamtas number 653 persons in the District,
their total number being 1697 in Berar. Their ordinary
rural avocations are the making of rope and twine and
the preparation and sale of gunny bags, but most of them
are noted as bazar or railway thieves and pick-pockets.
There is no limit to the Bhamti’s field of operations , he is
said to travel and work all over India, But he confines his
Caste.
145
attentions almost entirely to railways, markets, temples and
fairs, m fact anywhere where crowds collect, though he is not
averse, while making a road journey, to plying his calling
among fellow-travellers. The railway however is the most
lucrative, and safest field for his activities. The numerous
disguises he makes use of, and the variety of methods he has
recourse to for accomplishing his purpose, make him difficult
to recognise. Both sexes are early trained to follow the pro-
fession of crime and soon become experts. Children are first
taught to pilfer shoes, cocoanuts, etc., and are liberally chas-
tised for want of proficiency m the course of their education.
The women are as adept as the men, and boys are expert at re-
moving ornaments off the persons of children These juvenile
thieves entice their victims away to a quiet spot, by displaying
sweetmeats, copper coins or grasshoppers tied to a thread,
and then relieve them of their ornaments.
Another more distinctly criminal division are the Mang-
Garodis. They generally travel about with small /a/s, taking
their wives and children, buffaloes and dogs with them. They
are under the orders of a headman, who is distinguished by his
wearing a red cloth or shawl m addition to the short drawers
(chaddl) and fiinged waist clothes (kdchha), which form the
ordinary male attire. They never do a hard day’s work.
Begging^ performing childish conjuring tricks before villagers,
trading in barren half-starved buffaloes and buffalo-calves,
sometimes in country ponies, are their ostensible means of
subsistence. They also purchase from Gaolls barren buffa-
loes which they are said to be able to make fertile, returning
them when pregnant for double the purchase money; and
they shave buffaloes for villagers. Men, women and children
are habitual thieves and pilferers. They specialize in
stealing agricultural produce from and grazing their animals
in ryots’ fields ; remonstrance is met with abuse and often
violence. The women steal in the day and the men at night,
the former ■ being very clever at pilfering clothes put out to
dry, picking pockets in bazars, sneaking fowls, shoes, and other
things.
10
146 AMRiOTI DISTRICT. POPULATION.
The Takaris ‘ talce their name from the verb tahie, to reset
or rechisel. They mend handmills (chakkis) used for giindmg
corn, an occupation however which is sometimes shared with
them by the Langoti Pardhis. The Takari’s avocation of
rechiselling grinding stones gives him excellent opportunities
for examining the interior economy of houses, the position of
boxes, cupboards, etc., and gauging the wealth of the inmates.
They are the most inveterate house-breakers and dangerous
criminals. A form of crime which the Takari indulges in,
in common with many other criminal classes, is that of decoy-
ing into a secluded spot outside the village, the would-be
receiver of stolen property and robbing him of his cash — a
trick which carries a wholesome lesson with it.
Finally may be mentioned the Kolhatis, a criminal tribe
who numbered at the last census 215 in the District, chiefly
in the Daryapur taluk. They are nomads, the men of the
tribe being thieves, while the women are hereditary prosti-
tutes. The information which the latter obtain from their
admiters is communicated to their husbands and made use of
in their depredations.
Social Life and Customs.
132. The long Muhammadan dominion has left its mark
deep in the nomenclature of the Dis-
Namea or villages. ,
^ tiict, laige numbers of villages bearing
Islamic names. Instances of such are : — Afzalpur, Aurangpur,
Tlahiabad, Ashrafpur, Adampur, Azmatpur, Ismailpur, Khan-
zaman nagai and Peth Muhammadabad Among villages
named after trees or plants may be mentioned Chinchpur
from chtitch (a tamarind), Kekatpm from kekat (a flower), Ghos-
ali from ghosaU (a creeper), Ghol from ghol (a vegetable),
Palaskher and Palasman'dal from palas [Butea frondosa), Boil
from hoy (plum), Uhian from the umar tree, Karanja from
the kafaHj plant, Kumbhi from kttmblu (a plant), Nimkhed
and I^imbori from the nim tiee, Mochkhed from mock (a
plantain), Amla from dm (mango), Pimpalgaon from the
pimpal or pipal tree, Mogra, from the tnagra plant, Lashnapur
from lasau (garlic), Yerandgaon and Yerandl from yerandl
' Musalman Takaris are not classed as a criminal tribe.
SOCIAL LIFE AND CUSTOMS. I47
(castor seed), Sirasgaon froiD the siras hee. Some are named
after animals as Ghuikhecl from ghtd (an insect), Titiwa from
Uhm (a bird), Shidorl (from an insect generally found in the
rainy season). HarnI is from hayn (an antelope). Dbamangaon
means the village of the water-snake, ManjarkhecI, the abode
of cats, and Mhatspur, the town of the buffalo.
A few villages are named after deities as Asra (a Devi),
Krishnapur, Tuljapur, Ramgaon. Among miscellaneous names
may be mentioned Ghota (an ankle), Godn (a latrine),
Dahlgaon {dahi curds), Budhli (a cruse of oil), Dongargaon
{doiigar, a hill).
133. Just as in mediaeval Europe the village blacksmith,
the miller and other artificers were
"tormer^mies!” provided for by the field woi k of the
remainder, and the parson got his tithes ;
so in former times a Berar village had its hahUdm who
were entitled at harvest time to their hak ; a share in
return for their services of the crop that had been raised by the
cultivators. They might in a fully equipped village be as
many as twelve in numbei, and include (i) the carpenter,
Wadhi ; (2) the blacksmith, Khali ; (3) the GarpagSri, a
person who by white magic was supposed to be able to ward
off hail storms from the crop; (4) the Mahar or village mefiial;
(5) the ChambliSror leather currier; (6) the potter, KumbhSr; (7)
the barber, Mhali; (8) the washerman, Waithi, (9) the Gurao
whose business it is to clean the temple ; (10) the Joshi or Brah-
man priest and' astrologer, ( 1 1) the Bhat or bard and ( 1 2) in viF-
lages with Musalman inhabitants, the Mullah who officiated at
their ceremonies and performed the haldl of animals killed for
food. The carpenter made and repaired field tools and fire
wooden stools used at marriages ; the blacksmith^ the iron
work of ploughs and carts. In former times at Gal Piija, the
hook-swinging festival, it was his duty to .force the iron ho, ok
into the muscles of the devotee’s back. The Mahar besides
being a watchman castrated young cattle; and a Mahar woman
acted as midwife. The Mabali at marriages was a torch
AMRAOTI DlSTRICTi POPULATIOI^.
bearer ; or led the bridegroom’s horse ; or escorted the patel’s
daughter to her husband’s house. The Warthi spread white
cloths for the bridegroom’s relations to walk on. The Gurao
beat the drum at the time of worship in the temples. The
Joshi prepared the almanac, pointing out lucky days for
marriages, for ploughing, for seed time and harvest, calculated
eclipses, drew up horoscopes and officiated at marriages
and funerals. At the last and at all village festivities the
Bhat attended and recited, may be invented, the genealogy of
his host. The Mullah in the absence of the Kazr was the
spiritual guide of the Muhammadans.
But besides its balniedars, a prosperous village might have
also ten aluUddrs, These represent a later stage of economic
development, for notions of ownership have begun to appear
in the village. They gel no share of right in the crops but are
paid like a modem workman for what they do. They are (i)
the Sonar or goldsmith who assayed coin paid to Government
and made ornaments ; (2) the Jangam or Lingayat giw ; (3)
the Mang who beat the tomtom at man iages and performed
various menial services, (4) the ShimpI, or tailor; (5) the Teli
or oilman , (6) the Koil, or water carrier (whence our Anglo-
Indian word “cooly ”), (7) the Gosawi, a village ascetic living by
alms; (8) the Korki or piper and snakc-charmei , (9) the Bari,
the cultivator and seller of pan, (10) the Gondhali, or drummer.
The system, if system it may be called, was probably simple
enough In practice ; but with the vast economic development
of the last fifty years it has gone the way of all such primitive
arrangements, and retains its place only as a memory An
atmosphere of romance has gathered about it, and its details
are dwelt on in a manner which would speedily have made
them unworkable, had they had any but a traditional reality.
To-day they are impossible. The village blacksmith has
become a stamp-vendor, or a publican, the ShimpI leaves his
work to speculate in cotton, and the village Brahmans have
taken to the higher education and departed to the nearest
town to seek a living. Even the low caste Mahar is moving
with the rest, and will be found to vie with Kunbis in the
ears of the soil, and perhaps to have become a prosperous
SOCIAL LIFE AND CUSTOMS.
149
landholder in some other village than his own. The ghagav in
which the village women carry their household water is being
replaced by the ubiquitous kerosine oil tin, and even the
‘ three card trick ’ is not unknown.
To-day the most striking feature of the country-side is its
monotonous prosperity. The level plain stretches out to the
horizon without an acie of waste land, its flatness relieved
only by the mango trees scattered here and there, which lend
a touch of variety to the view even at the close of the hot
weather. The people speak of their cultivated fields as “the
jungle,” but the only trees therein are a few habul and mango,
and almost the only wild things, the antelope, of which large
herds levy toll on the fatness of the harvest. On one side,
may be, a line of scrub marks the course of some half-dry
nullah, and on rising ground, if there be any rising giound,
beside it, the trees grow thicker, and a cluster of brown roofs
and mud walls declare the village. As one approaches it the
thing most conspicuous is probably the garhl or fort, a great
square erection of mud with projecting towers at the corners:
reminiscent of the uglier aspect of times not very long gone by,
when ‘ Free Companies ’ of Pindaris and dacoits roamed
through Berai and heated the villager with scant consideration,
To-day the walls are tumbling down and the site taken up
perhaps by a primary school, 01 a police station, perhaps
by the houses of the leading inhabitants ; 01 these may be
grouped around it. Among them will be one somewhat more
conspicuous than the rest. It will have two stories and a flaf
sleeping place on top ; its front will be whitewashed, and its
verandah (haiihak, ota) hud gallery ornamented, perhaps with
blackwood caived in primitive fashion before carving became
a lost ait in Berar, periiaps with more modern twisted iron
railings and corrugated roof, This should be, if it has not
passed into the hands of the Marwaii moneylender, the house
of the Patelki family ; and like all the better houses it will
have a small enclosure attached to it. In this part of the
village too will be the clmmi or office of the patel and patwari
which IS also the village club, a musUfirkham or traveller’s
rest house, and any Government buildings that the place boasts
i^O AMlJAOTi DisTRiCT. i^OPtlLflTlOli.
of. The chief temple too will probably be there, its dedication
being a joint one either to Maroti and Vithoba orMahadeo and
Ganpati ; also perhaps a mosque if there are sufficient
Muhammadans to support it. Further away will be the
gothmii an open space used as a cattle stand ; perhaps a market
place , and separated by these from the houses of the better class
the Mahaipeth or quarter of the village servants, over which
flies a stiip of white or led rag to warn high caste folk away
from this place of defilement. On the outskirts will be the
wells, that for the low caste being in a different spot to the rest ,
one or two small shrines of Maroti or lmga$ of Mahadeo ;
and the trees and shapeless heaps of stone daubed red which
represent the village gods and low caste deities, relics of
earlier animistic belief. Last of all is the idgah, its scrupulous
whiteness as strange a contrast to the pievailing dirt, as
IS the faith for which it stands to the rude superstitions
which in this part of India have been grafted upon it.
Villages in this Distiict are laige, a hundred houses with
six hundred inhabitants being a usual figure, while many can
boast of a population numbered by thousands. The large
majority of the inhabitants, including the patel, will probably
be Kunbls ; though villages of Mails, Baris and similai
castes are not uncommon. There are one or two Brahmans
and a few Muhammadans , in some places Muhammadan
villages may be found. The usual low caste village seivants
are there. A number of Pardesis make up the foreign
element; and aie employed as casual labourers on such jobs as
watching the crops and scaring away wild beasts. Commerce
will be represented by the Marwari moneylender, the local
equivalent of the Irish “ gombeen man ” , or perhaps by , a
few Rohillas or Afghans whose objects are the same though
their methods are somewhat more violent and their dealings
pettier.
Of the old village community little remains. Those parts
of it necessaiy to government have been upheld — the patel,
the patwaxi, the menial servants. But the balutedats no longer
exist ; a Garpagari here and theie gets a precarious livelihood
from such as still believe hitn ; the Bhat is still in great request
Social Lire and customs.
at marriages and adoptions ; the Joshi and the Mullah have
probably obtained mam fields — we may almost say ‘ glebe
land ’ on which to support themselves and the worship they
perform. But the Mahat alone, the lowest of all the twelve,
can enforce his right to a share m the harvest.
All that is pictuiesque in village life centies now round the
patel. He is, as mentioned elsewhere, the representative of
the village in its dealings with Government, he is also in
internal raatteis its acknowledged head, and on four important
occasions in the year its leadei in the relation with the
Gods. His piivileges aie summed up as being the Man and
the Pan, or in one word MmJ>an. The latter are sundry
presents of pmstipan and cocoanut and services of a ceremonial
nature on such occasions as the marriage of his daughter , the
former the position taken by him at the foui great festivals
of Holl, Dasahra, Tulsilagna and Pola. At Dasalira a hlii or
male buffalo is provided at the village expense for a solemn
sacrifice to Diiiga. Devi, It is taken in procession up to the
jhanda or flag in front of the chdwn where in former days it was
slaughtered by the patel with his own hand. Now he makes
merely a ceiemomal cut and the Mahars who complete the
work carry away the body and eat it. At Holl the patel and
Joshi meet ; and make an invocation to the Rdkshas or demons
in whose honour it is held It is tlien the patel*s privilege Ig
light the sacred pile ; and he likewise provides the gulal or
red powder and the other accessories of ithe festival Tulsilagna
is the marriage ceremony ofthesacied basil plant, which is
performed once a year by the patel and the Joshi and signalises
the commencement of the auspicious season foi matrimony.
But the occasion of the patel's greatest importance is the
Pola . and as it is also the festival of all others most typical
of this part of India, it deserves a fuller description. It is a
religious holiday held on the new moon day of Shi'awan or
Bhadrapad, after the ploughing and sowing has been done, ,by
the cultivator in honour of his greatest helper the bullock. On
that day all the bullocks of the village will be gaily painted
in various colours and their horns and necks covered with
152
AMRAOTI district. POPULATION.
garlands. They assemble in one place, where stands the
gi/di a sacred “ maypole ’’ of the patel; the Mahars beating
drums in front of it, and a twisted rope of ml grass covered
with mango leaves being stretched from it to a smaller pole
on the right This rope is known as the toran and is dedicated
to Maroti. Under this stand the patel’s bullocks, which should
be a pair without spot or blemish, all white or all red, according
to the custom of the village. To the left of the pole a long
line IS foimed of the other bullocks, those of the Patelki family
first, then a pair chosen to represent the Deshmukh, a pair to
represent the SarkSr, the Patwari’s pair and finally those of
the other villageis. Bitter indeed are the disputes as to
precedence on these occasions, and by no means the less so
that the village does not always recognise as patel the man
whom Government has appointed, and sometimes takes this
opportunity to restore the precedence of a senior member of
the family. All now do puja to the pair of bullocks under the
ioran. At a given signal from the patel, his pair are led
forward, the toran is broken and the remaining pairs follow in
order through the place where it has been. With this
procession the ceremony ends, but no bullock can be put to work
this day , for once in the year they are free from their masters.
When the patel dies, there will be great excitement in the
village. Probably the watan or right to succeed to the office
in not held by one family alone but divided among several m
different proportions. These different families are known as
the hMs or taksims of the waian ; the test of a Jihel being the
observance by its members of sutah and devak or common
mourning and religious rites. They will now vie with one
another to produce a successor to the deceased ; and even
within each khl different candidates will appear against one
another in a fashion that makes it easy to realise how the
word hhaobandi (the affection of kinsmen) has come to be
the local synonym for deadly hatred. Each will produce a
genealogical tree twenty or thirty generations long with
infinite ramifications, and will be prepared to swear to the
truth of it though he bought it from the Joshi or the Bhat
or from some wandering sddhu not so very long before, But
SOCIAL LIFE AND CUSTOMS.
153
the cultivators of Berar are peaceable enough and though
agricultural riots are frequent, it is but seldom that serious
damage is done.
134. The iillager has few amusements beyond his family ;
the village gossip in the chawyi or the
temple, a weekly trip to the nearest
market, an occasional visit to ajatra
or religious fair such as that at Bairam, or more rarely a
pilgrimage to a shrine of more than local celebrity. Occasion-
ally a troupe of Nats or Gopals (strolling acrobats) visit a
village, and the people collect to see the exhibition. The
boys have their games, Gtlh danda, (Marathi Witi Dandn),
LonpM, and Arddh Purdah, The first is not unlike the English
‘ Bat Trap and Ball ’ or ‘ Tipcat.’ A small stick is placed
with one end projecting over a hole in the ground ; one player
strikes it smartly with a longer stick, and the others then
endeavour to catch it in mid air. If any of them does so, he
has his innings and the former striker joins the field. Lonpdt
is a kind of Tom Tiddler’s Ground or Prisoner’s Base, and is
generally played by moonlight. The ground is marked out
in squares to each of which a boy of the defending party is
po.ted. Their opponents then try to pass through these
squares and back again without being touched. If they do so
they win the game. Arddh Ptirddh may be compared to
“ Blind Man’s Buff,” or perhaps to “ Forfeits." The players
form equal sides and a curtain is held up between them.
One boy then hides close up to the curtain ; and the opposite
party IS asked to guess his name. If they reply correctly he
IS blindfolded and sent off on some errand, the fun of the
game consisting in watching him stumble over and knock his
head against the various obstacles placed in his path. Girls
have their dolls and play at housekeeping, as they do all the
world over, and their amusements are naturally more of an
indoor nature. DeshI Kasrat, an Indian ‘ Swedish exercise,’
has been introduced in the schools , and in one or two also
cricket. Among men, the games most in favour are clmisar
(a kind of draughts) and cards, Races pf trotting bullocks
1^4 AMEAOTI DisfRiCT. POPULAflON.
are held on Til-Sankrant and wrestling matches, very much
of the “ catch-as-catch-can ” order, on Nag-Panchaml. Cock
fighting and also ram fighting are favoured by the lower
classes ; and among Gaolls he-buffalo fighting on Diwah is a
common diversion. The beasts are fed up beforehand with
say/;l (cotton seed) and green grass and on the day of the
contest arc given tan, ganja and other intoxicants, Cricket,
tennis, and similar games are only played where they have
been introduced by English officials, in the large towns,
among the police and in a few schools-
Lfading Families.
Leading families,
The most distinguished landholder in the District
IS the Maharaja of Jaipur who holds
near Ellichpur (as he does also in
various other parts of India) land granted to his ancestor the
famous general and astronomer Jai Singh by Aurangzeb in
recognition of services in the field. The estate is known as
Jaisingpura and is main land. The story goes that Aurangzeb
issued a sanad to Jai Singh granting him all the land on
which his army halted for any considerable time, and the
Jaipur family accordingly have such estates scattered all
over India. Flis Highness of course is an absentee, and the
resident aristocracy of the District falls into four well defined
classes : the Jagirdars and others, chiefly Muhammadans,
connected with former rulers m Ellichpur, the Rajput
chieftains of the Melghat , the Deshmukhs who are mostly
Marathas,and the Deshpandes who are all Brahmans. Besides
these there are a few families of merchants and others who
have become prominent under British Rule. Very few of these
can show anything exciting in their annals or any personage
of historical distinction. The story especially of the ex-pargana
officers IS the story of a class and an institution rather than of
great characters or single houses. As a class, they usually
refer their sanads to the time of early Mughal Emperors, and
especially to Aurangzeb; though the offices which they
hold are probably much older. As a class, they weathered
LEADING FAMILIES.
155
the stormy period of do-amli govemmeat, to be placed with the
arrival of British Rule on political pensions {msum, lawdzmia)
in perpetuity , and as a class they are repidly losing, through
the excessive subdivision of these pensions, all the importance
that they once possessed.
136. Probably the most substantial as well as the best
The Deshmukhs- known of the Deshmukb families ill
Daryapur. the District are those of Daryapur,
Jarud and Ellichpur. The first are
Marathas, but claim, as so many leading Maratha families do
claim, to have come here from Rajputana ‘ in the time of
Alamgir ,’ an assertion in which there is nothing very
improbable ; for in the general upheaval of that Emperor^s
Maratha wars new men on both sides were bound to come to
the front and his armies are sure to have left colonists
throughout the Deccan. They received a grant of the
Daryapur pargana, which contains 1 13 villages, m Deshmukhi
and quickly became zamindars in addition. At various
times they appear to have occupied a position of con-
siderable dignity under both the Nizam’s and the Bhonsla’s
governments, and to have attained at least a partial in-
dependence of the local talukdars and Subah officials. Bahadur
Rao, their greatest representative, who seems to have held
sway early in the 19th century, had the honour of a palanquin
at the expense of the Nizam’s Government with a guard of
50 soldiers from the same quarter as well as 50 from the
Bhonsla , and used to travel m state to Nagpur and Hyderabad
to present in person the accounts ot his pargana. Pie
built at a cost of about a lakh of rupees the great wiida or
family seat at Daryapur, which is one of the best houses
in the District and contains some very handsome carving.
The present head of tlie family, Bhagwantrao Shankairao
Deshmukh, is his grandson. He has been a Special Magistrate
for 28 years and was invested a few years back with
second-class powers • he has sat on the District Board
ever since its beginning 23 years ago, and in many other
ways has helped forward the administration Of the
156
amraoti district, population.
District which he was invited to represent in the Delhi
arbar of 1903, A brother Nagorao is also on the District
Board while a third is Tahslldar of Amiaoti. The family was
formerly one of the wealthiest in Berar • and though much
of Its imm land has been made Ma/saat successive settlements,
and an unfortunate lawsuit not yet finally closed has eaten
away its revenues, is still very well off. One vdlage Sivar
U2urg containing 572 acres 13 guniMs is held on palamhai
enure at a fixed tribute of Rs. 321 per annum; the lawazima
amounts to Rs. 848-2-3, and there is khdka land of 912 acres
as ^ying Rs. 2108-11-9 Government land revenue.
Bhagwant Rao calculates his total yearly income as being
between nineteen and twenty thousand rupees. Hs holds
a so the Patella and patwanpan ol several villages, but these
offices are purely of an honorary nature and the work is
done by otheis.
137‘ The Ellichpur Deshmukhs arc Brahmans and claim
Elliohpui- to have obtained their watan before the
establishment of the Mughal rule m
k mgs. Probably because their paigana was the headquaiters
of the province they never appear to have attained to such
power as the Daryapur family, though at least as wealthy.
One village is held by them m jagir free of payment, and as
they also possess a large amount of Mdha land scattered in
27 c 1 erent villages, and a lawdztmd which amounts in all to
Rs. 4291.11-6 the family may be said to be m a flourishing
condition in spile of a debt of Rs. 15.000 on one half of the
estate, fhc property is divided, one share being in the hands
of Vyenkatllanmanlraoand the other of Vithal and Haiihar,
sons ot Madhorao.
138 Like the Daryapur family the Deshmukhs of Jarud
Jarfid 'n the Morsi taluk are Maiathas and
claim to have come originally fiom
Udaipur in Rajputana The present head of the family is
Rao Sahib Anand Rao Tukaram who received his title in
LEADING FAMlLlfeis.
157
recognition of services rendered during the famine of 1899-1900,
and of his habitual liberality to deserving institutions both in
his own neighbourhood and elsewhere. He is both Deshmukh
and Malik Patel of jarud receiving a lawaztma of Rs. 120 for
the former and Rs. 136 for the latter office. He holds land in
Berar paying Rs. 4500 a year Government land revenue and in
addition is malguzar of two villagesintheKatoltahsil of Nagpur
and of seven in the GwSlior State. He pays Rs. 175 income
tax on sahulian dealings and a share in a cotton gin, and
estimates his annual income at not less than a lakh of rupees.
The estate is, not unnaturally, free from debt. The Rao
Sahib maintains sadavart — free alms to all that choose to
ask— at Jarud and in the famine established a poor-house for
500 people at his own cost. He is chairman of the War-Qd
Bench of Honorary Magistrates and a member of the Taluk
Board.
139. Near neighbours of the Jarud Deshmukhs are the
Kale family of Warud, who though
they have never held pargana office
may be mentioned here as a Maratha
They are descended from one Sivaji Rao
who came from Satara about the year 1760 at the request of
the Bhonsla Raja and settled here. He is said to have taken
part in Maratha raids towards Bengal and to have held rank
as first class Sirdai in the Nagpur Darbar. Of his two sons
Vithalrao the elder settled at Betul in the Central Provinces
while the younger Malharrao came to Berar ; and the family is
proud of having held office as Honorary Magistrates for three
generations, Vithalrao, Malharrao, Tukaram and Martandrao,
the eldest son and grandson of Malharrao, having all exercised
jurisdiction , while Bajirao, a brother of Tukaram, is a member
of the District Board The family is a large one with many
branches, but the Berar half of it at least is joint, and holds
property both real and personal valued at five lakhs of
rupees and bringing in not less than thirty thousand rupees a
year. In addition there is a moneylendlng business managed
by Bajirao.
The Kile family
of Waiud.
family of standing.
158
AMRAOTI DISTRICT. POPULATION,
140. Of the Deshpande families there are also several of
considerable position, but few that can
A^angaonf^^ claim to any historical importance.
That of Anjangaon is descended from
one Vithujl Narayan who settled in Anjangaon and founded
Surji, building the village fort and rampart there in 1697 A.D.
Shamji Deshpande fought valiantly m the wars of the Nizam
and the Marathas and successfully defended his village against
a Pindari raid. Balwantrao was the head of the house at the
time that the representatives of Sindhia and the East India
Company met at Anjangaon, and is said to have exerted liimself
m the interests of peace. His services and hospitality were
recognised by both sides and a copy of the treaty presented
to him, but this together with sanads from the Emperor
Aurangzeb and from various Nizams was destroyed in the fight
between the Nawab of Elliclipur’s troops and those of the
Munsif of Alcot, which took place here in 1850. Of the present
membeis of the family Yeshwantrao is a Special Magistrate,
as were also his father and grandfather before him, the former
subsequently becoming Tahslldai of Balapur. Raghupatrao,
who is noiy 58 years of age and is regarded as the head of the
family, has also been for many years a Special Magistrate.
He is a great student ot poetry and himself a poet. His
lawdzmd is drawn on his behalf by his son Govind, and
amounts to Rs. 819-13-2. Yeshwantrao draws Rs. 34-6-2 and
a third branch of the family represented by Gayabai widow of
Pralhad has Rs. 727-1-8. No information has been obtained
as to the financial condition of the family except the statement
that theii %ndm fields were made kJMsa in 1863-64 by the
Inam Investigation Officer. They may however be taken to
be fairly well-to-do.
141. But the most important Deshpande family in Berar
Elhchpur Ellichpur whose present head
IS Rao Sahib Purushottam Bhagwant.
Like his father, the late Rao Bahadur Bhagwant Rao, the
Ran Sahib is a second class Magistrate and vice-chairman of
the Elhchpur City municipality, a brother Narhar Rao being
also a municipal member. The family is a Brahman one and
LEADING FAMILIES.
159
claims descent from one Ramaji and his son Naroram who
came to this District and settled in it m the reigns of Shah
Jabfe and Aurangzeb, They received vaiious grants of land
and of the Deshpande watan, the earliest being dated A.D.
1656. At the present day the Deshpande's allowance is
Rs. 3410-4-9. The estate consists of tnam and hhalsa lands,
and each of the three branches into which the family has
been divided enjoys an income of about Rs. 15,000 per annum.
142. A position somewhat similar to that of the Desh-
.. . mukhs and Deshpandes in the plains
The Melghat Rajas. . \
was occupied in the Melghat by the
Rajas of the six parganas, Makla, Dhulghat, Jamgarh,
Mohkot, Khatkali and Rnpgarh. Living in a poorer
country they have never been quite so wealthy but being
inaccessible they have attained in the past to far greater
independence. Their history is more stirring and the
insertion of a clause in their sanads establishing primogeniture
has given them a chance of stability which the pargana
families of Berar unfortunately lack All these chiefs claim
to be of Rajput or Chhatri extraction, the Raja of Maklg,
being descended from a certain Bijairao, the Mohkot Raja
from Gambhirrao and the other four from Garudrao. It is
said that m 1 598 three years after the close of the MalwE war,
the Emperor Akbar turned his attention to his new dominions
and called for volunteers to populate the devastated parganas.
Among others the three adventurers just named came forward
and offered to settle the rude tract known as Gangra, the
western and southern parts of the present Melghat taluk
The Emperor was pleased to accept their services and sent
them forth with the hereditary rank of Rajas, beating letters
commendatory to the Governor of Malwa, Shabash Khan-
Omdad-ul Mulk enjoining his assistance. Having reached
their destination they set about their work, and to help them
called m the services of a wealthy zamindar named Gondaji.
This man (the Solon of the legend) introduced cultivators and
when frightened by the pestilential climate they fled back to
the plains, he resorted with great success to the cautery as a
l6o A}.1R\0TI district. PCPULATlO^i.
cure for malaria. The work prospered and the Emperor
was so satisfied that he granted jagirs to the adventuiers in
perpetuity, enjoining on them to uphold order and maintain the
peace, and generally to do the duties of a good king. We may
hope that they obeyed him for their history for nearly three
centuries is a complete blank covered only by lists of names
and by sanads from Alamgir which expert opinion pronounces
forgeries. But the existence of certain inethayi tenures along
the northern border of Berar (lands held either for the main-
tenance of police clmnhis or as blackmail) together with the
undoubted blackmail from the Akola treasury to the Mohkot
Raj'a leave some doubt upon the matter. Certainly their
first appearance in authentic history is a sufficiently turbulent
one, for m 1809 a family quarrel between Khushal Singh of
Makla and his uncle Jait Earn assumed such dimensions that
the latter called in the aid first of the Bhonsla RajS, and
subsequently of the Nawab of Ellichpur, and the whole
country was devastated. Eventually however the Raja won
the day and obliged his uncle to take refuge in Ellichpur.
From about i8ia to 1818 the history of the Melghat is bound
up with the history of Sheikh Dulla, a daring Pindari leader.
Sheikh Dulla was a young Muhammadan brought into the
Melghat as a personal attendant by Khushal Singh but the
attractions of the freebooter’s life were too much for him and
abandoning the service of Khushal Singh he joined a Pindari
gang and soon became one of the most daring and elusive of
raiders. Being thoroughly at home m the Melghat he found
It easy to evade pursuit, and it is not difficult to imagine that
the local Raja found the temptation to share m the booty and
to connive at his escape irresistible. In 1813, however, his
depredations m the neighbourhood of Poona roused the
Peshwa to action and a force was despatched to follow him
into the Melghat. Sheikh Dulla himself escaped but
Khushal Singh and his brother being suspected of complicity
were seized and in 1814 the whole tract was annexed by
the Peshwa. The Raja and his brother soon escaped and
there ensued a period of war between them and the Peshwa’s
representative whereby entire parganas are said to have been
LEADING rA^iILIES.
depopulated, In i8i6 the Peshwa’s force was recalled to
Poona, but in 1817 Khushal Singh was seized by the Nawab
Salabat Khan of Ellichpur, and the Melghat was annexed to
Berar under the sovereignty of the Nizara. Khushal Singh
died two years after his deposition. Jangu Singh, the heir of
Khushal Singh, continued to share in the depredations of
Sheilch Dulla upon the Berar valley, till in 1818 the latter
met the usual fate of the freebooter and was stabbed to death
by an old member of his own gang, who had been sent by
some British troops to persuade him to surrender. The
information about the position of the Rajas after the annexa-
tion in 1814 IS very meagre but they appear to have lived the
life of outlaws and freebooters till the death of Sheikh Diill§
in 1818. Thenceforward they were constantly striving to
recover what they had lost by their misconduct. An enquiry
into theii claims was made in 1840 by Captain Johnston and
the Nawab Jam, and a further inquiry m 1867 by the orders
of Sir Richard Temple, Resident at Hyderabad, on the occasion
of demarcating the forest reserves. It was at this second
enquiry that the Rajas’ rights were established on the basis on
which they have subsisted to this day. Compensation for
the loss of forests and forest rights was ordered to them in
the shape of annual cash payments , one-third of the estimated
profits on forest produce being divided into two shares, one
for the Makla Raja who had kept his teak forest in excellent
condition and was the greatest loser, one for the other five.
In addition the previously vague extent of their jagirs was
finally settled, their police stipends fixed by Captain Johnston
were raised, and the namrs or presents made them by their
feudal dependents were made voluntary. The meihan lands
and the blackmail already alluded to were dealt with, the
former being made hhalsa and the latter abolished ; the Raja
of Jamgarh also received Rs, 1500 per annum in extinction
of the right which had been granted him to receive grazing
tax Particulars of the Rajas* villages and allowances as
finally fixed are given in the following page.
Memorandum Showing the Jagirs, etc., held hy the Melghdt kdjds.
LEAbiNG FAMILIES
1^3
143. In 1870 the Makla, Raja was found to have taken up
his residence in Ellichpur. Three ot
Villages, Malcla, Punjara and Sumet,
had been included in the reserved forest,
and owing to the irksome restrictions introduced by the Forest
Depaitment the Raja found existence at Makla intolerable.
His case was represented to the Government of India and in
1872 he was given the five villages of Kot Chikhll, Nandnra,
Jamber, Kota, Lawada in lieu of these three villages. On
sentimental grounds he was allowed to retain possession of the
plateau of Makla, where his ancestral house and magnificent
old mango groves were situated
144 No change was made in the position of the Rajas tiJ
1884 when the police arrangements came
Changes ui the police under consideration. So long as the
system. °
Melghat was confined to the simple
Korku, the somewhat primitive police system maintained by the
Rajas did well enough , but the opening of the tract by roads
attracted traders and moneylenders, and the system broke
down. The personality of the Rajas was in itself enough to
bring the system into disrepute. They took no personal pride
or interest in their position ; many of them led dissolute lives
and bore evil reputations. Crime was neither reported nor
detected , there was no adequate security foi person or property.
In 1885 three of the Rajas had been depiived of their
jurisdiction, two more had been suspended and only one (the
Raja of Khatkali) was in charge of his range. Matters were
brought to a head by the depredations of Tantia Bhil. Several
dacoities were committed in the Melghat and the Rajas
absolutely failed either through indiffeience or sympathy to cope
with the situation. A special force of the regular police had
to be posted in Melghat and the local officers were unanimous
in favour of making the change permanent. This was
accordingly done. The Rajas’ connection with the police was
terminated and payments made to them on this account ceased .
As an act of grace however such part of the payment as had
been considered to be the personal allowance of the RajSs was
continued to them during their lifetime.
164
AMRAOTl DISTRICT. POPULATIOM.
145. The Rajas have always been treated as absolute
proprietors of all the land within their
jagirs and no steps have evei been taken
to confer any rights on the tenants. In
1871, when the proposals with regard to the exchange of
certain villages with the Makla Raja were submitted,
the Government of India enquired what steps weie being
taken to prevent the existing tenants in the villages surren-
dered becoming mere tenants-at-will of the Raja , but it
was pointed out by the Resident that owing to the shifting
nature of the cultivation in the Melghat it was inevitable that
m course of time all the tenants would become tenants-at-will
and it was uiged that, land being plentiful and cultivators
few, the Raja’s self-interest would prevent lus dealing harshly
with the tenants. The tenants therefore all hold their land
entirely at the will of the Raja and no rights of occupancy
or transfer have been granted to them. In 1876 it was
decided m consequence of the indebtedness of some of the
Rajas to place their holdings on the same footing as a service
grant in the plains, to protect them that is to say from
alienation and subdivision , and the question of issuing snnac/s
defining the Rajas’ rights was raised. Their issue however
was delayed, and it was not till 1896 that all the Rajas
had received them. The form of sanad is given below ,' it will
^ SANAD granted
of I,
o Raja
the
by
of the Government of
India.
h (1)
son of
taluq of the District
under the authority
The dagir villages of i —
( Name of village or villages )
Acres Gunfas
Total ...
, t CoiMpciisa- Rs.
Taglia Cess ...
Compensation
Forest dues ...
Compensation
on account of
grazing dues ...
A.
Aggregating an area acres and
guntas in the taluqa of
the District in Bcrar, ag laid down within the
boundaries shown within the
boundaries shown upon the survey
map of the taluq of
(year) on sheet nos : annexed
and also the money allowances ^ specified m
the maigin, aie heieby gi anted, subject to the
conditions hereafter stated, to you
, successors
10 the Raj to the following order
of succession so long as any such successors
are forthconung
LKADING FAMILIES,
I65
be observed that the title of Raja is used, and therefore
definitely recognised by the Government of India. It is not
recognized however as conferring any hereditary precedence ;
and does not even convey the right to a seat in Darbar, only
two of the Rajas being at present Darbans. An exemption in
perpetuity from the provisions of the Arms Act has been
granted to them with their retinues ; and in this respect as well
as in the vague social deference customarily paid them their
status has been recognised as somewhat higher than that of
ordinary jagirdars or deshmukhs. In the event of a dispute
as to heirship the jurisdiction of the civil courts would apply
but in addition to this the Chief Commissioner’s sanction to
all successions must be obtained. In spite however of the
(2) For the purpose of these jagirs and of
the allowances for Jaglia cess and forest dues,
the order of succession to Raja and all subse-
quent incumbents shall be as follows —
Namely— that on the death of any incumbent,
he shall be succeeded in the enjoyment of these
jagirs and of these allowances by such one
of the male peisons, (if any then in existence)
descended by birth or adoption through males
only from Raja as would be preferred according
to the rules governing the succession to
ordinary private property, and that when
according to these rules several such persons
stand on an equal footing, the law of primo-
geniture shall apply.
II. This grant is given on the following
conditions, on failure of which it shall be
liable to forfeiture, namely—
(1) That the said jagir and the said allow-
ances, VIZ. the Jaglia cess and compensation
for forest dues, being service grants shall on
no account be alienated by the said Raja
or his successors either by sale or mortgage
or in any other manner without the previous
sanction of the Resident in writing.
(2) That the tenure of the grants hereby
conUrmed shall be entirely dependent on the
loyalty to the British Government of the said
Raja and his successors.
(3) That in all cases of succession the
confirmation of the Resident shall be obtained .
III. That the abltari revenue of all the
villages held in jagir by the Raja or his succes-
sors shall belong absolutely to Government,
IV. That the jagirdar shall be considered
the proprietor of ail forest trees and forest
produce in the land hereby confirmed to him,
subject always to the condition that any timber
or other forest produce removed beyond the
limits of the jagir shall pay such dues and be
AMRAOTI DISTRICT. POPULATION'.
if)6
very definite recognition which has been accorded them, the
present status of the Rajas is not an enviable one. The Pax
Britannica has deprived them of the excitements of gang
robbery with violence which formerly relieved the tedium of
life for so many of their rank ; it has even deprived them of
their control over the local police. But it has not yet brought
the more solid advantages of civilization into their jungle
fastnesses. Shut off from the world so long as they continue
to live in the home of their fathers, they have nothing to
do but to draw the allowances which Government has
granted them and manage their small jagirs as best they may ;
and it is little wonder if the monotony of such an existence
IS occasionally varied by an incident such as that which
subject to such rules as regards transit as the
resident may from time to time prescribe
V. That in the event of Government con-
structing road or railways within the limits of
the lands hereby confirmed to the jagirdar,
compensation for any land or for forest produce
on such land required for such roads or railways
shail only be payable in respect of land
actually under cultivation at the time the land
18 taken up for such purpose or for any in-
habited village Site in whole or in part or any
bona -fide improvement proved to have been
made at the expense of the jagirdar,
VI. That no transit dues of any description
shall be leviable by the jagirdar.
VU. That the jagirdar shall maintain in
good order and in their proper positions all
the boundary marks of fns jagir, and that
if after the granting of this sanad any boun-
dary marks on the ground are found at any
time not to coincide with the position given
to them on the map, it will be incumbent on
the jagirdar for the time being to erect
boundary marks of approved pattern on the
places assigned to them according to the map,
and that on failure to do so after due notice
has been given by the chief revenue autho-
rity of the District, It shall be within the
power of the chief revenue authority of the
District to cause the said boundary marks to
be erected and to recover the cost of the
same from the jagirdar in the manner pres-
cribed by law for the recovery of an ears of
land revenue.
Given under my hand and the seal of my
office with the sanction of the Governor-
General in Council, this the of
(year to be given in words).
Signed
Eesident-
LEADING PAMIIIES,
167
Iwaught one of their number within the grip of the law
only a short while past. The most notable occasion m
their history is recorded m Meadows Taylor’s autobiography.
In 1857 appeared before that officer and offered
their services in keeping out the mutineers from Berar;
and the writer records that not one of them failed in the
duty for which they had volunteered. Apart from this none
of the Eajas have as yet attained to any eminence either
in the Melghat or elsewhere, though the late Raja Khuman
Singh of Makla and Kot Chikhh appears to have been a
man of some dignity and force of character. He was the
owner of two very good houses in Chikalda ; and it is hoped
that his successor at present a minor may receive such a
training as will fit him to fill and perhaps to improve on the
position that he occupies. The remaining RSjas are all
illiterate and their affairs deeply involved. The names and
residences of the present Rajas are as follows : —
1. Raja Bharat Singh Khuman Singh of Makla or Kot
Chikhli resides at Kot and at Chikalda.
2. Raj§ Bhoran Singh Tara Singh of Dhulghat has his
residence at Ranigowhan.
3. Raja Guman Singh Mangal Singh of Mohkot resides at
Salwan.
4. Raja Ratan Singh Lakshman Smghofjamgarh resides
at Raipur.
5. Raja Ratan Singh Beni Singh of Khatkali resides at
Mankari.
6. The Rupgarh Raj is now represented only by the two
widowed Ranis Lai Kunwar Dhaokal Singh, and Genda
Ganpat Singh who are each paid an allowance of Rs. 30 per
mensem from the Chikalda sub-treasury.
146. Of the former revenue administration and government
in the remaining seven parganas of the
Kalamgana Jagir. Melghat we have no certain Information
though it seems that revenue officials of the Nizam were
AMPAOTI DISTRtCT, POPULATION.
1 68
stationed in the Melghat, and we may suppose that the Rajas
held some vague and indefinite authoiity over the wild tribes in
the parganas nearest to them as well as over their own. The
parganas of NarnSla and Gawllgarh would naturally be under
the sway of the hledars or military castellans of those for-
tresses ; but in the latter at least as well as in the neighbouring
parganas a position of gioat strength was held by the family
now represented by Umrao Singh Ganu Singh. They were
patels of some fifty villages and jagirdars of Kalamgana
Khurd, but were not as is commonly said hledavs and are m no
way related to the hledar family of Gawllgarh whose present
head resides at Bhainsdehi m BeWl, There is no definite
information forthcoming as to their origin though we may
suppose them to have formed part of the original Rajput
settlement placed by Aurangzeb in fort Gawll and to have
maintained throughout a pure descent uncontaminated by
marriage with the jungle tribes. Though not hdedar the repre-
sentative of the family was one of the defenders of Gawllgarh
against the Duke of Wellington, and had held the jagir village
of Kalamgana Khurd from lime immemorial. The jagIr
descended without break to his grandson in whose time it was
forfeited for his non-appearance before the Inam Commissioner
in 1870. In 1889 however it was restored and the land
revenue which had been collected in the interval was paid to
the jagirdar. The present holder is a Darhari but has no
other distinction.
147. In 1896 it was proposed to compensate Ganu
Singh, the jagirdar of Kalamgana, for
I7a.es. villages. losses sustained by him on his
patelkl rights (including rights in mango and mahua produce)
m consequence of the inclusion of certain villages in the
Cbikalda State forest : (2) the losses consequent on the forest
produce from his jagir village of Kalamgana having to pay
dues at the Melghat forest mkas. Compensation in the
form of land rather than a money annuity was suggested in
the interests of the family, as the experience of the Melghat
Rajas had shown the danger of money grants for which no
work was required. Accordingly the two villages of Dongar-
LEADING FAMILIES.
i6g
khera and Kalamgana Buzurg, which adjoin the jagir village
of Kalamgana, were leased to Gann Singh at a nominal rent
of Rs. ic per annum for 30 years. On the expiry of the lease
which will fall at the close of the year 1925-1926, no
compensation for improvements will be claimed, but only
permission to remove jagtr forest produce from Kalamgana
Khurd, free of dues, or in lieu thereof a payment, not
exceeding Rs. 100 a year, for such term as Government may
levy dues on forest produce removed from the jagir.
148. One of the most interesting survivals of Muhammadan
rule in Berar is the provision that has
^atfb"and*KaIi. made for establishment of the
faith of Islam. As is well known, that
religion recognises no priesthood in the accepted sense of the
term but entrusts to various classes of laymen the duties
usually performed by priests in other communities. The
maintenance of public worship is the business of the State
and those who conduct it are civil officers of Government.
The Mullah, the Maulvi, the Muezzin have each their r6le
assigned to them, but the two most important offices are
those of the KEzi and the Khatib. The former is one who
conducts the services in the mosque and at the idgah, both
of which places he is supposed to maintain in repair, performs
the ntkah or marriage ceremony, settles points of what may
be called ecclesiastical law, and is the general referee and
arbitrator of his people. For each of his various services he
receives a fee. The Khatib is a more distinctly religious
officer, his duties being confined to preaching the khittld (a
mixture of “ Bidding Prayer ’* and sermon), leading the
devotions of the congregation and distributing alms. He is
also expected to deliver lectures on religious subjects. In
most places the two offices are held by one and the same man,
but where there is a large Muhammadan community they are
separate. In Berar a KSzi serves a circle of Muhammadan
villages, frequently those of a pargana, and both offices enjoy
in addition to the offerings of the faithful service grants of
mmX&n}, These have been given to them under mmd? of
170 AMUAOTI DISTRICT. POPUtATIOK.
various Delhi Emperors and Nizams of Hyderabad ; and when
British Rule was introduced there was much uncertainty as
to the light in which the land so held should be regarded.
The Inam Investigation Officers were in favour of treating it
as given for personal maintenance ; and this view was at first
accepted with the consequence that the inam might be divided
up as an inheritance, and further on failure of direct heirs of
the grantee would revert to the Crown, The law however
does not appear ever to have been enforced and on a petition
of Saiyad Amjad Husain (see below) to be allowed to succeed
his father-in-law Saiyad Madar Baksh in the inams attached to
the Kazat of Anjangaon Surji and other places, the Government
of India reversed the rule and directed that the fields to an
amount calculated to bring in Rs. 300 per annum should be
regarded not as personal maintenance but as niam basharU
hhidmat or service grant. They are now therefore treated
as endowments attached to the office of Kazi. They cannot
be divided and so long as the service for which they
are given is performed, and the land is not alienated, they
will not be resumed by Government or made hliaha. The
service may be personal or by the appointment of a Naib
KSzi who acts as a curate-in-charge. In spite of this provision
and of the customary dues which they receive, the Kazi
families are by no means well-to-do. As might be expected,
the two most prominent in the District are those of the
Khatib and Kazi of Ellichpur, the former being represented
at the present day by Saiyad Azmat Husain and the latter
by Saiyad Muhammad Hanifuddin. Saiyad Hanifuddin’s
family are HusainI Saiyad and claim descent from one
Shahabuddin Wall who emigrated from Kantur in the time
of the emperor Muhammad Tughlak A.D. 1325-1351 to
Daulatabad. In the reign of Aurangzeb his descendant
Muhammad Sharifuddin received a grant of the Kazat and
Khitabat of Daulatabad and Khuldabad and these offices
have remained with his decendants. His grandson of the
same name migrated to Ellichpur by reason of a famine ; and
by the favour of Nizam All KhSn of Hyderabad in 1182 A.H.
(1768 A.D.) obtained the office of Kazi and the title of Khan
LEADING FAMILIES.
171
under a sanai of Shah Alam. Saiyad Mohluddin, the grand-
father of the present Kazi, was the author of a religious work
entitled ‘ Hidayat ui Anwar.’ The multiplication of depart-
ments under British Rule has meant that various services such
as registration, control of bazais and the like for which in
old days the Kazi used to draw fees have passed from his
hands ; but he still enjoys an tnatn bringing m Rs. 300 annually ;
and a total income from all sources of Rs. 1000 by his own
calculation. The family of the Khatib is also Husaini
Saiyad and claims to have come to Berar with the mythical
Shah Abdur Rahman Ghazi m the person of his chief of
staff Saiyad Abdul Malik. Having arrived here, however,
they settled down to more peaceable occupations and turned
from Ghazis to Muezzins and Khatibs of the Royal Mosque,
prospering at the hands of various Mughal Emperors and
others down to modern times. Saiyad Muhammad Khalil in
particular was regarded as a saint and as such invited by
Nizam All Khan, who ruled in Hyderabad from A.D. 1763-1803,
to adopt his son, it being considered a great honour even
for a prince's son to be adopted by so holy a man. The
same Nizam at the Iduzzoha in 1754 A.D. when acting as
Governor of Berar on behalf of his brother invested the
Khatib with the Robe of Honour which his descendants still
wear at the Idulfitr and Iduzzoha. It consists of a long white
gown embroidered with green, a belt similarly embroidered
in pink and a sarpech of green worked in silver; and
though now much worn with age, must when new have been
a wonderfully handsome garment. The late Khatib Khan
Bahadur Saiyad Amjad Husain was famous as the author of
‘ Tarlkh Amjadi,’ a history of Berar in Persian and of other
works both in prose and verse and in addition to being a
second class Magistrate was a man of great position in the
city. His influence among his own community was such that
both Sunnis and Shiahs accepted his leadership, and when he
preached would worship in the mosque -side by side. His
brother Saiyad Muhammad Husain was a Ymani Hakim of
note. In days when European medicine was less easily
pbtainable than now, he was frequently consulted by English
152 AMR^OTI DISTRICT, POPOLATIOM.
officers, and his dispensary received a monthly grant-in-aid
from municipal funds. As has been already mentioned, the
late Khatib on the death of his father-in-law Saiyad Ghulam
Ahmad, otherwise known as Madar Baksh, succeeded to the
Kazat of no less than six parganas which had been held by
the deceased and to the property attached to them, A long
correspondence ensued as the upshot of which a large
proportion of the land was allowed to remain mm and was
made * service grant ’ attached to the office of Kazi. Saiyad
Amjad Husain left three sons who have divided the duties
but enjoy the inheritance in common, the eldest being Kazi
of Anjangaon Surji m addition to the Khitabat and the other
two taking the remaining Kazats of their father. The total
landed estate of the family is ggo acres 27 gunthas of which
491 acres 3 gunthas are %na,m land. The income of the family
from all sources including a small political pension is estima-
ted by Saiyad Azmat Husain as nine thousand rupees a year
and there is no debt The Khatib is a member of Ellichpur
City municipality and a Bench Magistrate.
149. The Nawab family of Ellichpur whose histoiy for the
century preceding the introduction
''EUtchpur British Rule is the hisfory of the
province itself, is now extinct. It
IS represented however through women by Baud Khan and
Yunas Kh 5 n sons of Talemand Khan, and these gentlemen
still enjoy something of the consideration as well as part of
the property belonging to the old family. They are free from
debt and have an income of about Rs. 9000 a year arising
chiefly from khalsa land. Baud Khan is a member of the
municipality and a Bench Magistrate. The family is of
Sulemanzai Pathan extraction, and first appears in the Deccan
in the reign of Nasirjang (1748-1750), by whom Shadi Khan
and Nasib Khan, horse dealers from Jaipur, were appointed
to the command first of a hundred then of a thousand lances
and were given a jagir m Berar. From mere adventurers
they rose to high importance, and from their descendants the
governors of Ellichpur were principally chosen. Muhammad
Ismail Khan rose to a command of 7000 horse and, having
LEADING FAMILIES,
il7i
distinguished himself in the battle of Udgir against the Maratha
forces in the year 1760 was appointed in 1762 by Nizam All
Khan to the Governorship of Berar. A bullet in the thigh
during that battle had lamed him for life, and he was allowed
the privilege, by no means a common one, of remaining
seated in full Darbar. He was also granted by the Nizam a
palanquin, a royal fan of yah's tail, a banner, a drum and
other honourable distinctions, as well as the jagir ot Balapur,
his cousin Hayat Khan receiving Daryapur, Karasgaon and
other places As Subahdar, he did much to beautify ElHch-
pur and 111 particular founded the fine old palace of the
Nawabs, a building which is said to have cost three lakhs of
rupees. Its courtyards and halls are now in a very tumble-
down otate, though some good carving and stone work are
still to be seen. Part of it is used to-day as a school and part
is inhabited by the present representatives of the family.
Ismail Khan also constructed the walls of the city, using, it
is said, the materials of Raja Il’s Jam temples, and retaining
for ten years the whole revenues of his subah for the purpose.
Whether as seems probable he actually aimed at an indepen-
dent principality or as the Nur-td-Bew has it, the "Wazlrs
Zafar-ud-Daula and Rukn-ud-daula succeeded in poisoning
their master’s mind against him, the Nizam became suspicious
of his old friend and lieutenant. Marching into Berar he took
the fort of Amner on the Wardha river from the Bhonsla
and advanced against Ellichpur. At Ner Pinglai Rukn-ud-
daula was murdered, and at Deori the Nizam halted, the
Nawab’s forces being only four miles away. Here (still fol-
lowing the vernacular account) Zafar-ud- 4 aula sent a message
to Ismail Khan offering to mediate with his sovereign, an offer
which was contemptuously rejected. The armies met at
Katsura between Ner and Ridhpur, and the Ellichpur forces
were routed : the Nawab fighting with Ins usual gallantry,
was slam. It is noteworthy as disposing of the allegations of
treachery on the part of Zafar-ud-daula that it was at that
officer's mediation that Salabat Khan and Bahlol Khan, the sons
of the dead man, were invested with their father’s honours
and jagirs, The former lived to make himself very useful
A^fRAOTI DISTRICT. toPuLATlON,
15^4
to Wellesley, finding supplies for his army and himself fighting
with his troops under the General's orders in the campaign
against Gawilgarh. He is said to have placed his son
Namdar Khan under Wellesley’s special protection : as the
local historian somewhat enigmatically says ‘ General
• Wellesley adopted Namdar Khan and gave him the name
‘ of General Duke. ’ The latter on attaining manhood was
remarkable for nothing but his spendthrift habits : and with
his nephew the diiect line of the Nawabs expired in 1846.
Portraits are still in existence of Ismail Khan, his son and
grandson, which might well serve, so marked is the gradual
stultifying of the features, as an illustration to Gibbon's famous
words on the rise and decline of oriental dynasties. The present
family are descended from a sister of Nawab Ismail Khan.
Khan Bahadur Manewar Khan was at the time of the Inani
Commission confirmed in his jagirs for his lifetime only : and
on the succession again passing through a lady they were
resumed and made Malsti ; by this tenure accordingly Daud
Khan and Yunas Khan at present enjoy them.
150. The three most jimportant jagirdari families in the
The JagirdSi's, I^istrlct are those of Saiyad Eiyasat
All of Asadpur, Saiyad Kasim of
Nandgaon Peth and Mir Ahmad All of Kharala. Of these
Mir Ahmad All who is a retired Special Magistrate, has no
co-sharers. He estimates his estate at about five lakhs of
rupees, his income from land and moneylending at Rs, 25,000
a year and his expenditure at about Rs. 15,000. Including
With the jagir, hhaistt land which he has himself purchased he
IS a holder in eighteen villages. His great-grandfather Mir
Akram All who was the founder of the family received the
jagli for military service to the Nizam, and both Akram All
and his successor Akbar All had the title of Khan. Ahmad
All has two sons Husam All and Riyaaat All who will
eventually succeed him. Saiyad Kasim, who lives at Nandgaon
Peth, is the head of a family which holds the jagir of four
small villages near that place and is also wealthy. The third
LeaJjiKg families.
1^5
jagir, that of which Riyasat All is the most prominent
representative, was probably in the beginning the largest of the
three as the estate of which two villages (Shahpur and Raipur)
are now jagIr and the rest khalsa lies in both the Daryapur and
Ellichpur taluks. It was granted by Nizam Ali Khan
Asafjah-us-Sani in the year 1177 Hijri ( A.D. 1776) to Mir
Wajid All, Khan Bahadur for gallantry in battle, but is now
very much subdivided, no less than fourteen persons being
enumerated as having either shares in or allowances from the
estate, Mehdi All, Hafiz All and Muhammad Ali, who are
brothers, hold one half of it and reside in Daryapur taluk;
Zulfikr Ali and Riyasat Ali (with the remaining sub-sharers)
hold the rest. In all the estate consists of 876 acres 38 giinthas
jagir and 2720 acres of khaisa land. The total income is
estimated at Rs. 40,000 and the total expenditure at Rs. 25,000.
Riyasat Ali jagirdar has a medal of the Royal Humane
Society for bravery m saving life from drowning, and
both he and Muhammad Ali are Honorary Magistrates.
Finally may be mentioned the jagir of Mahuli in Amraoti
taluk which was granted (as an exception to the usual
practice) by the British Government for conspicuous services
during the great Mutiny, The ancestors of the family were
jagirdars in Ellichpur and Vaka-i-Nigars in the time of
Aurangzeb, but in modern tiroes the founder of their fortune
has been Mir Dilawar Husain who took service in the
Hyderabad contingent and rose to be Risaldar Major of the 2nd
cavalry, In the action at Banda in 1858 his valour won him
the Order of Merit and he received also the title of Sirdar
Bahadur, He met his death in battle at Chichamba, a village
in His Highness the Nizam’s Dominions in 1859 while fighting
against a band of Arab and Rohilla marauders ‘ and in the
next year the jagir was granted to his two sons ‘ in perpetuity
‘ or for so long as the British Administration in the H. A. D.
‘ shall continue.’ Both these sons in their turn entered the
army, the younger Mir Akbar Ali becoming a Risaldar and
the elder Mir Bakshish Ali a Risaldar Major and like his
232 243* Burton's * History of the Hyderabad Contingent,’ pagt
:76
AifRAOTl DlSTRlCf, t’OPULATlOM,
father a recipient of the Order of Merit. The present jagirdar
Mir Mazhar All (a grandson) resides at Hyderabad ; and his
one son is the sole heir to the estate. The land of the village
amounts to 2618 acres 23 gmthas free of all assessment to
Government.
15 1. But perhaps the most influential of the Muhammadan
families is that of the late Naw§b Mir
Other families. •n.^vAi-Tn- ,
hateh All Khan who was a jagirdar in
the Aurangabad District of the Nizam’s territory as well as a
large property holder m Akolaand Amraoti , in the latter city
he was a Special Magistrate and the recognised leader of the
Muhammadan community. His estate and something of his
influence have descended to his two sons Mir Mehdi All
Khan and Mir Tuiab All Khan. The ancestor of the family
was Nawab Mir Najal All Khan Bahadur Mushli-ud-daulS,
Zulfukar Jang, who came to the Deccan with the first Nizam
and captured the great fort of Asirgarh. Of gentlemen who
have risen to affluence under British Rule may be mentioned
the Honourable Rao Bahadur R. N. Mudholkar and Mr. M. V.
Joshi, the leaders of the local bar, both of whom have large
houses in Amraoti Camp. The former is a well-known authority
on questions connected with the economic development of the
country. The most prominent Marwaris are Fatehlal Saligram
the local head of the great house of Shriram Saligram at
Dattapur and Shrinarayan Rambilas, the proprietor of the firm
of Dhanraj' Pokarmal in Amraoti. Both these gentlemen are
Honorary Magistrates , and the latter’s family were the first
bankers on a large scale m Berar. Dhanraj' Sahu, indeed, the
founder of the family, was murdered by the enraged populace
in 1255 FasliJA.D. 1845) being suspected of having made a
corner in gram after a failure of the monsoon. His grandson,
Rao Saheb Rambilas Pokarmal, however, gamed his title
for his many public spirited acts, and the family are at
present much respected. Of the village patels one of the
best known is undoubtedly Raibhan of Assegaon who in a
tenure of office extending from 1861 to 1903 (in which year he
relinquished m favour of his son) has done much for the
improvement of his village and neighbourhood and has given
LEADING F\MIUES.
177
several of his family to the service of the State. The Hajput
family which holds the patella of Talegaon Thakur and
surrounding villages is also very well-to-do ; perhaps its best
known member is Thakur Chandrabhan Raoji, Deshmukh
and patel of Mojhari. He is a very substantial landed
proprietor and gin owner and rendered excellent servce in
time of famine.
CHAPTER IV.
AGRICULTURE.
(Di Clouston, M,A „ B, Sc,, Deputy Director of Agnculitm,)
Soils.
152. The geological formation of the District is Deccan
Classes of so.l. mtratrappean beds of shale,
sandstone and limestone which are
exposed m places. From the disintegration of the trap and
the less prominent layers of non-cystalhne rock can be traced
the various classes of soil of this tract, varying from the
very fertile deep loam of the plains, commonly known as
black cotton soil, to the thin red soils of the plateaux resting
on partially decomposed trap. The rivers Puma in the west and
Wardha in the east with their numerous tributaries, together
with the undulating nature of the District, provide a natural
system of drainage, which is very favourable to the cultiva-
tion of the staple crops — cotton and juari, which only thiive
well on well drained land. The soil is largely a deep black
loam, which cakes into a solid mass in the beginning of the
dry weather, and cracks freely in all directions later. These
fissures run to a depth of several feet and give the soil a
reticulated appearance , hence the statement that “ black cotton
soil ploughs itself.” The depth of the black cotton soil vanes
from a thin covering to a stratum of unknown depth. It reaches
its greatest depth in the valleys into which it has been washed
as a fine silt from the higher lands. The richest soil of the
District is the alluvium of the Purna valley lying north of the
railway. This soil locally known as thet or awal hah is of
fine texture, very retentive of moisture, becomes sticky when
wet, cracks freely m the dry weather and is comparatively
heavy to work. The largest stretches of it are found m the
north of the Daryapur taluk, in the west of the Amraoti taluk, m
the south-west of Moisi, the east of Chandur and lound about
the town of Ellichpur. In different places it is known under
SOILS.
170
different names such as cMhil, which means a sticky soil,
gaohln, a wheat soil, and the like. It is very fertile, and
well suited to the cultivation of all the different crops
grown in the District. As it is mainly found in low-lying
or level areas, however, its retentivity sometimes results
in water-logging in years of excessive rainfall. In such
years cotton grown m this soil suffers badly, while in
years of short but well distiibuted rainfall, the same soil will
give a bumper crop. Owing to this tendency of the soil to
retain too much moisture during the rains and to retain that
moisture late in the season, it used to be largely devoted
to wheat. But within the last thirty years wheat has
often done badly owing to the failure of the late rains, and
the cultivators now grow cotton or juari in preference to it
m this class of soil, or if wheat is grown at all, it is generally
in rotation with these The large rise in the price of cotton
has also stimulated the giowlh of this crop. The area under
wheat has decreased from 8‘8 per cent, of the total
cropped area m 1876 to 46 per cent, m 1907; while
the area under cotton has, within the same period,
iisen from 36 to 50 per cent, of the cropped area. The
black cotton soil of the plains rests on a layer of
marl of a light yellow colour. The water-bearing stratum
IS generally very deep. In the rich tract of the Daryapur
taluk it varies from 40 to 80 feet. The water of the wells
in such tracts is often brackish owing to the presence of
certain soda salts, and it was at one time customary in Beiar
to utilize the water of these wells for the manufacture of
salt. Black cotton soil containing a small percentage of
lime m a finely powdered state is known as MU. If there
IS a still higher percentage of lime present in the form of
nodules about as large as peas, the soil is known as
vioymtdt. These soils containing lime are lighter to work
than pure black cotton soil, are less retentive of moisture
and less fertile. Sandy soil found on the banks of
rivers and streams is known as fetari. A shallow stony
soil found on high-lying places and producing only interior
grasses and brushwood is called havdi. The thin layer of
red soil overlying trap rock or mtiram on the plateauV ig
known as Id I matti ; a soil subject to scouring is called hlmdf..
j80 AMRAOTI DISTEJCT, AGRICULTURE.
A shallow hilly soil interspersed with stones and boulders
is known as goidv and the patches of greyish coloured
marly soils which occur in certain fields, and which are
very wet owing to the subsoil being impervious to watei,
are known as cJiopan. An alluvial soil foimed from deposits
of silt IS called mah or gdrwat. A soil containing much
saline matter is designated hhdrwan. A liard shallow mwam
soil of only a few inches in depth is known as mimmti Mm'M
or khatratt. Land when irrigated from wells is known as
moiasthal bagclyal and as pdtasthal when irrigated from a
channel or pat. Land in close proximity to a village is known
as ahhay, and the light coloured soil of such land is known
as pcindlm The colour is supposed to be due to the chemi-
cal changes which take place in black soil when impregnated
with much fermentable organic matter. Piindhn is the soil
par excellence for garden cultivation.
153- By the Berar system of soil classification for land-
revenue assessment, there are three
Berar system of soil , r , , ,
classification. mam classes of soils, viz., black soils,
red soils and grey soils. The factors
that lessen or increase the productive power of a soil are
considered and a certain value attached to each, the standard
for comparison being that of a soil of standard quality. A
table IS then prepared showing how far any combination of
these factors causes a particular soil to differ in productive
capacity from soil of standard quality. Fields are not
classified as having particular kinds of soil, but aie valued at
so many annas as compared with soil of sixteen anna quality.
154. With the exception of the Melghat the standard of
^ ^ cultivation of this District is high.
Cultivating castes. "This is evident flora the caie with which
both field and garden crops are culti-
vated. The best cultivators are of the Kunbi, Mali and Bari
castes. The typical Kunbi is a quiet hard-working unassum-
ing man, who though not very intelligent, is a good and
successful practical farmer. Formerly when the caste system
was more rigid, the Kunbi cultivated dry crops only, while
the Mali attended to garden crops including flowers, vegetables
and fruit, and the Ban to his betel vines. Each was considered
expert in bis own particular biancb of cultivation, The
LIVE STOCK
i8t
barriers that separated these cultivating castes have to some
extent bioken down, and the Kunbi no longer altogether
neglects garden cultivation, nor the Ban and Mali the cultivation
of ordinary field crops. Of these castes cultivation is the
hereditary occupation. As the population increased, and the
competition in other industries giew keener, other castes
have been compelled to take up farming as an occupation.
Among these are found cultivators who, though they take less
kindly to farming than the hereditary farming castes, aie
often more enterprising than the latter, and for that reason
some of them have become successful cultivators. Faim
labour is largely done by the poorer Kunbis and by Mahars
and Muhammadans.
Live Stock.
Speaking at the time of the Mutiny, Captain Meadows
Taylor says, ‘The Province of Berar contains the finest
draught cattle m India.’ It is impossible to say to what
particular herd he referred, but it is interesting to know that
for army transport and battery purposes bullocks of the
Khamgaon breed were employed not so many years ago.
In this District there are three fairly distinct breeds of
cattle: — (i) the Umarda or Gaorani breed, (2) the Khamgaon
breed, and (3) the Ghat or Pahari breed. Of these,
Umarda cattle are considered the most suitable for the plains,
but the Ghat cattle do bettei in the hilly tracts.
155. The Umarda bleed is divided into two well defined
, . types which are said to differ in colour
umarda breed,
only. The colour preferred depends
upon the taste of the village cultivators. One village
swears by white and purchases and breeds white animals in
preference to any other colour ; another village prefers red.
Mixed colours arising from crossing are not likOd'. The
Umarda bullock is of medium size and is white 'or rod in
colour. The body is compact; the head is well placed anli
broad between the eyes; the forehead is slightly concave,
the horns are of medium size; the muzzle is. broad and
usually dark in colour ; the nostrils are large; the neck ■ is
short and thick with a rather small dewlap; the back is
LIVE STOCK
i8f
barriers that separated these cultivating castes have to some
extent broken down, and the Kunbi no longer altogether
neglects garden cultivation, nor the Ban and Mali the cultivation
of ordinary field crops Of these castes cultivation is the
hereditary occupation. As the population increased, and the
competition in other industries grew keener, other castes
have been compelled to take up farming as an occupation.
Among these are found cultuators who, though they take less
kindly to farming than the hereditary farming castes, are
often more enterprising than the lattei, and for that reason
some of them have become successful cultivators. Faun
labour is largely done by the poorer Kunbis and by Mahars
and Muhammadans.
Live Stock.
Speaking at the time of the Mutiny, Captain Meadows
Taylor says, ‘The Province of Berar contains the finest
draught cattle m India.’ It is impossible to say to what
particular herd he lef erred, but it is interesting to know that
for army transport and battery purposes bullocks of the
Khamgaon breed were employed not so many years ago.
In this District there are three fairly distinct bieeds of
cattle: — (i) the Umarda or Gaoiani breed, (2) the Khamgaon
breed, and (3) the Ghat or Pahari breed. Of these,
Umarda cattle ate considered the most suitable for the plains,
but the Ghat cattle do better in the hilly liacts.
155. The Umarda breed is divided into two well defined
Umard'i breed types which aie said to differ m colour
only. The colour preferred depends
upon the. taste of the village cultivators. One village
swears by white and purchases and breeds white animals m
preference to any other colour ; another villalge prefers red.'
Mixed colours arising from crossing are not Iikdd*. The
Umarda bullock is of medium size and is white or red in
colour. The body is compact; the head is well placed and
broad between the eyes, the forehead is slightly concave,
the horns are of medium size, the muzzle is, broad and
usually dark in colour; the nostrils are large; the neck is
short and thick with a rather small dewlap; the back is
1^2
AMRAOTl Dl&TRlCl. AGRICULTURE,
sti Right and the hump of ordinary size. The animal is well
proportioned, active and keen-spirited The breed is very
hardy, and a pair will trot from 30 to 40 miles a day. Cattle
of this breed are common in Amraoti, Ellichpur, Daryapur
and Chandur taluks A pair of Umarda bullocks will fetch
from Rs. 125 to Rs. 200.
156. Khamgaon cattle are seen mostly in Daryapur taluk
. where the soil is deep and heavy to
Khamgaon breed. , „ , ,
work. The Khamgaon is the largest
and strongest of the Berar breeds, and is therefore well suited
for heavy work on black cotton soil. The typical Khamgaon
bullock IS a big bony animal with a coat of mixed colours ;
the general colour is red or tanned red mixed with white, the
red generally occurring in lound spots which give the animal
a mottled appearance. His hoofs, muzzle, horns and inside
of the ears are of a chocolate colour; forehead is broad
and slightly convex, the muzzle fine and the hump well deve-
loped; horns are of medium length and rather thick at
the base. When allowed to grow naturally they grow straight
out almost in a line with the forehead with an expansion of
about 2| feet. But the owner almost invariably alters their
curvature by cutting slits m them near the base when the
animal is still young. The slit is cut round the outside of the
base of the horn, so as to make them curve round over the
top of the head, so that the distance between the horns at the
points and the base is about the same. At times this opeia-
tion IS carelessly earned out with the result that the horns
become quite unsymmetncal. The height of a good Kham-
gaon bullock is 52 inches behind the hump , his length fiom
head to tail is about 6 feet, and his girth about the same.
He is round in the barrel and altogether a strong, massive
animal. For that reason he used 'to be much in favour in the
army for transport or battery purposes. As a trotter he is
inferior to the smaller but more active Umarda bullock, and
his hoofs are softer and do not stand the tear and wear of the
road so well, of which fact the light coloui of the hoofs is an
indication. The Kunbi cultivator, who prefers the smaller but
hardier breeds, speaks derisively of Khamgaon cattle as the
pochat breed, by which he means the breed that cannot stand
fatiguei As a strong draught animal he is particularly well
LIVL bTOCk. 1 85
suited for areas where the soil is heavy to work. A pair of
Khdiiigaon bullucks costs from Ks. 150 to Rs. 250.
157. The smallest bleed of the District is the Melglut or
Pahfm breed. The Melghat bullock is
Mclgh.u^ind. other ^ hardy, active animal particularly well
suited for the conditions of that hilly
tract. Tliey vary much in colour, but the predominant
colours are red, wliite, and mixed red and white. The fore-
head IS straight with a vertical depression midway. The
limbs are strong and well apart. The pelvis is rather lean
and narrow and the dewlap small. When purchased young
and brought to the plains where they are well fed, bullocks
of this breed attain to a larger sue than they do in theit
native hills. A pair of these bullocks will fetch from
Ks. 80 to Rs. 150, In addition to these, cattle of many other
breeds are imported into Berar, such as ArvI cattle from
Wardhd and Malwls from the Hoshangabad side, and much
inter-breedmg has gone on, more especially between the ArvI
cattle and the Umarda breed.
158. It is often stated that the cattle of this and other
, . Districts of Berar have both deterior-
8om*c7ty o*f*caule. Sled and become much more costly
within the last forty years. This has
not been definitely proved. There are still good cattle all
over Berar and the prices do not seem to have risen much
within the last four decades. In the Berar Gazetteer of 1870
the prevailing prices at that time were slated to range from
Rs. 115 to Rs. 132 per pair. At the present time the price
of an average pair of Umarda bullocks would be between
Rs. 120 and Rs. 150. The 'fact remains, however, that at
the present time cultivators in Berar are doing very little to
improve their cattle. The ordinary ryot feeds his working
bullocks fairly well, but neglects his cows and young stock,
which for the greater part of the year subsist on
the dry and unnutntious grass of the grazing areas. No
selection is made of breeding bulls ; the cows of the village
herd are allowed to be covered by immature and inferior
bulls. That old custom of keeping Brahmani bulls in the
villages which Was so common in former days, and which
^4
AMRiOTI DISTfeldT. AGlilCULTURfi.
helped to maintain the quality of the stock, has fallen
somewhat into disfavour, consequent on the great amount
of mischief done by these privileged animals to the village
crops. The only large stock owners and breeders of this
District are the Gaolls of the Melghat, whose aim
IS to rear as many animals as possible, rather than to
impiove any particular breed by careful attention to selection.
There are no important cattle shows held in the District by
means of which a taste for cattle breeding and rearing could
be encouraged.
159. Ever since the beginning of the great boom in
„ „ cotton cultivation, more and more of
the waste land formerly available tor
pasture has been brought under cultivation, and the
Cultivator has, in consequence, been compelled to reduce
the number of his cattle and to provide a daily supply of
fodder for his working bullocks. In 1870 there were in the
District 12 bullocks, 12 cows and 4 buffaloes for every
hundred acres of cultivated land as compared with g bullocks
5 cows and 2 buffaloes, respectively, at the present time. It
is undoubtedly the case that here as in other parts of Berar,
the demand for working bullocks now exceeds the local
supply, and that breeders from the Nerbudda valley, Wardha,
Khandesh and the Nizam’s dominions, aie finding a leady sale
for their bullocks at good prices in Berar markets. This is
as it should be; the cultivator of Ainraoti under present
conditions finds that it pays him better to cultivate cotton than
to rear cattle, and it is questionable whether any system of
land administration could be devised which would enable him
to rear all his own cattle with profit to himself while the
price of cotton remains as high as it is.
160. Cows are kept for breeding, larely for producing
■ Cattle-breeding. “‘1^' are. poor milkers, the
maximum yield of a good cow being
about three seeis a day; but the ordinary animal does not
give enough milk to nourish her calf properly. The price of a
cow varies from Rs. 10 to Rs. 40. Nowadays the ryot finds it
difficult to rear cattle. If within reach of forest grazing areas
he gets a permit from that Department and sends his cows
liVe sl(
^85
q,nd young stock there in March for grazing There they
remain under the charge of graziers who charge a fixed rate per
head. In October they are brought back again to Ins village
to subsist for the remaining six months on whatever grass they
can pick up. For the whole period of twelve months the
feeding is poor and is certainly not conducive to the improve-
ment of the breed. The principal breeding ground of the
District IS the Melghat. Here there is some glazing in the
jungle all the year lound, though water is scarce in the diy
weather. The breeders of the east and centre of the taluk
have commonly to drive their heids north to the Tapti
valley in the hot season The chief breeders are Gaolls,
though there are also herds owned by the local KorkCis and by
Banias, Kalars, Telis and Muhammadans from the Khandwa
bide, many of whom have settled m the Dharni circle in
the Tapti valley. Grazing being plentiful and cheap,
cattle-breeding is a paying industry in that tract. The
grazing dues paid to the Forest Department aie 6 annas
per head per annum for herds belonging to large graziers and
half .that sum for those of cultivatois. During the day herds
of about 200 cows may be seen giazing under the charge of
one or two graziers, and at night they are driven to an open
place in the jungle where the grazier has his hut, and where
they rest in safety, as no tiger or panther will usually attack
any animal of a combined herd. The calves, except in rare
cases, get all the milk. No serious attempt is made to
improve the breed, the cows gel nothing but the comparatively
dry and unnutntious giass which they pick up, and are
allowed to be covered by any one of the three or four inferior
bulls with the herd. The male calves when about a year
old are sold in the plains of Berar or in the Nimar District.
The chief markets for Melghat cattle are Ellichpur, Bairam
and Dharni.
’ i6i. The want of sufficient grazing land is one of the
_ . greatest difficulties with which the
Grajiing areas. ... r .
cultivators of the District have to
contend. On paying the necessaiy fees cattle owners
can 'Send their cattle to C class forest, i.e,, grazing
ground set apart for this purpose; but t^e area iS very
inadequate. The northern parts of the Morsi, Ellichpur
l86 aMrAOTI DISTRICt. AGRICULTl)Rfi.
and Daryapur taluks, the western pait of Chandur and the
eastern part of Amraoti taluk take advantage of some
larger forest blocks , but m the rest of the plain portion of
the District the area for grazing is confined to the few
acres of waste land and to the narrow strips of uncultivated
land that form the borders of fields. These strips locally
known as dhuriis have under the stress of competition
been gradually brought under cultivation and are now
tbo narrow to be of much value. The pasture lands and
forests of the plain taluks are' m consequence much over-
grazed.
162. Bullocks are put to easy work when three years of
age , after the age of four they are
'b^lock. ° ^ able to do full work. The working
life of a bullock vanes from twelve
to sixteen years, according to the kind of treatment it gets.
Bullocks kept steadily at well work last a much shorter time
than those kept for dry-crop farming. For well irrigation a
pair IS not supposed to last for more than five or six years if
worked continuously.
163. There are two breeds of buffaloes in the District,
Buffaloes Gaorani or Nagpurl breed, and
the Malwa breed. The former are
distinguished by their long horns that sweep back over the
neck , the Malwa breed is smaller and their horns
shorter and slightly crumpled. Buffaloes are kept by
Gaolls for thh production of milk and ghl. Herds
of from 60 to 80 are kept in the Satpuras. In towns
where they are kept for milk, they are fed on juari
stalks and cotton seed — one cow buffalo being allowed
from two to thiee seers of cotton seed daily. Male
buffaloes are but little used for draught purposes, and
the bull calves are therefore neglected and many of them
die before coming to maturity. The price of a good cow
buffalo is Rs. 75.
164. The JBerar ryot has no taste for pony breeding, the
Oldinary pony seen in the villages being
a poor specimen. The well-to-do ryot
piefeis to travel In a cart or nngl drawn by bullocks. The
price of a good pony is about Rs, 50,
Live stock.
165. The local donkey ib of a very small but
Donkeys hardy breed, and \anes in price from
Rs. 7 to Rs. 25 each. The milk is
not commonly drunk, hut is sometimes given to children as
it lb supposed to be very digestible. Mule bleeding is
not practised.
166. Sheep are kept only by the Gadaiia or shepherd
. caste. Herds of goats are kept by this
Sheep, goats and pigs. ^
and other low castes of Hindus and by
Muhammadans. The three breeds of sheep are the Taper-
kane, the Batkane and the Fulkane. The Tapeikane sheep
has long ears and is geneially jet black in colour, while the
Batkane breed has small ears and is generally mixed black
and white. The Fulkane breed is said to be a cross between
the other two. They have reddish brown ears with white
tips. Sheep are kept for the production of wool and
mutton. The wool which is used for making coarse blankets is
shorn annually m the cold weather, the weight of each fleece
bring from one to one and a half pounds. Goats are princi-
pally reared by Dhangars for their flesh and milk. Pigs are
kept by Gonds and Gowaris who consider pork a luxury.
167. Epidemics among cattle are very common, and as no
Diseases taken to segregate diseased
animals at the first appearance of an
outbreak, infection spreads fast m a herd. The diseases
most prevalent m the District are rinderpest, foot-and-mouth
disease, malignant sore throat and pleuro-pneumonia. Other
bovine ailments such as hoven, diarrhoea and dysentery are
common. Rinderpest is a disease common to all cattle but
young buffaloes epecially aie liable to it. An animal attacked
by it generally dies within a week • should it live for ten
days, there is good hope of its recovery. The curative
measures adopted by the owner are to feed the animal on
ghl, mung pulse, and rice water and to invoke the help of the
goddess Mata. Inoculation for imderpest is recommended
but not yet practised to any great extent m the District.
Foot-and-mouth disease is very common. The animal
attacked by it is made to stand m mud, and dikUmdli or the
resin of Gardema hcida, boiled In linseed or til oil, is
i88
AMr\OTI DlSXRICt. agriculture:.
rubbed on the sores of the feet. If there are ulcers on the
tongue, they are treated with alum powder. Should the
hoofs split, the animal becomes lame for life , but the disease
IS not often fatal.
i68. The cultivation of the District is as a whole perhaps
cleaner than that of any other part of
Berar. The most troublesome of all
weeds is hunda {Andropogon punctatiis)
which may be seen growing in its characteristic roundish
patches in cultivated fields, and which the cultivator may be
seen laboriously digging up with his hidll (pick) during the hot
weather. When gieen it is relished by cattle Kdns grass
(Saahaytm spontanenm) is equally tioublesome, but is not so
widely spread. It is chiefly found near the foot of the
hills but IS not so common here as in the northern Districts
of the Central Provinces. NCigamothil {Cypms pretcnsis) is a
most pertinacious weed infesting garden and ahJiav land.
Nngrp grass {Arthyaxon lanceolatum), an inferior grass of
spreading habit, paoma or sirpnt {Ischamnm stdcaUmi), a lulty
grass which giows to a height of two feet ; pdndhav {Chloyis
baybaia) a coarse tufty grass gi owing m wet places are also
common weeds m cultivated fields, but can be removed with-
out much difficulty at the time of weeding with the khiiypi,
Agiiya {Achyyanthes aspeyci), whose floweis stick to the clothes
like burs, and the leaves and seeds of winch aie used medi-
cinally, is a very common weed on the borders of fields.
Wild $an hemp ( Crotalana retnsa) and sheora, a species of
Alysicaypust are the two commonest leguminous weeds found in
cultivated fields. There are also certain shrubs which become
very troublesome weeds. Yelatavi (Dtchrostachys cineyea) with
its tassel-hke flowers, saondav (Prosopis spicigera) which may
be recognised by its grey rough bark and flowers in slender
spikes, ml or akan (Calotropis gigantea) and at times bdhnl
(Acam arabica), kmar (Acacia Uncophlea) and other shrubs
become troublesome weeds. The roots of some of these go to a
depth of 4 ft. or more, and 'the work of uprooting them at that
depth is a heavy one The cultivator commonly checks their
growth by digging lip the roots that are m the first six inches
of soil. The natural' grasses of the ramtids and village grazing
grounds are those that have adapted themselves to the soil and
statistics of cultivation.
i8g
climatic conditions of these areas. The hardier and coarser
grasses generally flourish at the expense of the finer \aneties,
The coarser varieties include those already mentioned as
common weeds in cultivated fields, as well as mote lush or
spear grass, {Hetevopo^on contortus) a coarse glass used mainly
for thatching, tikhiri or msa (Andropogon Schejemnthns) from
which a fragrant oil is extracted and mitshad (Iscilema mghtti).
The best grasses zxe paoma, the marvels smthd marvel ( Andro-
pogon cantosus), s,-adlahdm marvel (Andropogon anniilatus), sahdda
( Icha'timm laxum) and dilb grass {Cynodon dactylon.)
Statistics of Cultivation.
169. For the purpose of showing the agricultural progress
^ ^ ^ of the District, the year of the levision
cropifed are"a. settlement 1894-95— may be taken as
the starting point. In 1894-95 the
village area excluding state forests was 1,930,056 acres, of
which the area occupied for cultivation was 1,795,125 acres,
Durmg the 14 years ending 1907-08 the village area increased
by 138,873 acres and cultivation extended by 106,668 acres.
The expansion of these areas has been obtained by the
contraction of both the state forests and the unoccupied
culturable waste lands. The net cropped area m 1894-95
was 1,714,34s acres, but in the famine years of 1896-97 and
1899-1900 it decreased by 26,944 267,098 acres
lespectively- In 1900-01 there was a rise to 1,742,280 acres
and in 1906-07 the highest figure during the last 14 years,
namely 1,810,171 acres, was reached, but there was a fall in
1907-08 to 1,777,167 acres. Ainraoti has the fomth largest
ciopped area in the combined Provinces, being exceeded by
the two Berar Districts of Yeotmal and Akola and the
Chhatllsgarh District of Raipur. The double-cropped aiea of
the District is very insignificant, the aveiage area double
cropped during the last seven years having been 656 acres.
170. Of the area occupied for cultivation in 1907-08, a
„ , total of 124,626 acres or 6 per cent., was
undei new and old fallows, the new
fallow being 99,971 acres and the old fallow 24,655 acres.
Owing to the unfavourable seasons the new fallow hag
tgo AMRAOTI DISTRICT. AGRICULTURE.
increased in recent years. In 1894-95 the area under old
fallow was 26,897 acres but has now fallen to 24,655
acres, or by 8 per cent. Owing to the cotton boom
of late years the cultivator sows his field with cotton
every year without giving it a fallow 01 rotation of crops.
In a rich black soil country grazing inevitably gives place
to cultivation; if the cultivatoi can afford to leave part of his
land for pasturing his cattle instead of growing a fodder crop
for them, it is either evidence of his prosperity or the
lightness of the rental he pays.
1 71. In 1907-08 autumn or kharlf crops covered
Statistics of Crops 1.649,101 acres or 92-7 per cent, and
spring or raU crops 129,143 acres or 7'3
per cent, of the gross cropped area. Since 1901-03 the relative
proportion of the autumn crops has increased by nearly
108,400 acres. Cotton is the principal crop and in 1907-08
occupied 885,996 acres or about 50 per cent, of the gross
cropped aiea. In 1905-06 it occupied 943,268 acres, the highest
figure ever recorded during the last fifteen years. Fifteen years
ago m 1892-93 cotton occupied 672,875 acres, so it has now
gained more than 213,000 acres. Next in importance to
cotton IS juari, the common staple food of the District which
m 1907-08 occupied 539,282 acies or more than 30 per cent,
of the gross cropped area. Twelve years ago juan
occupied between 600,000 and 700,000 acres, and it has now
fallen by about one-sixth of its area, almost all of which has
gone to make way for the more important and paying crop
of cotton. Among vali crops wheat is still of some importance.
Fifteen years ago much land was devoted to wheat but
it has gradually fallen off and now occupies 81,780 acres
or 4.6 percent, of the gross cropped aiea. The area undei
other crops in 1907-08 was : tur 103,135 acies or 5.8 per
cent, gram 22,891 acres or per cent., and linseed
10,045 ^cres or less than i per cent. Rice is not of much
importance and occupies only 4260 acies. The area
under sugarcane in 1894-95 was 600 acres, but it has
gradually fallen to 228 acres. Orchard and garden crops
occupy 1267 acres, of which 1219 acres are irrigated
There is very little irrigation in the District, the total
area irrigated in 1907-08 being only 7453 acres or 4.4
per cent, of the total cropped area and this was mainly
from wells.
Crops.
173. The area under cotton in 1907-08 was 888,996
Cotton acres. In 1876 cotton occupied 35.9
per cent, only of the cropped area
of the District as then constituted , in 1881 36.7 per cent.,
in 1891 38.2 per cent., m 1901 47.7, in 1905 52 and
1907-08 50 per cent. There was thus a gradual increase
in the area duiing the thuty years from 1876 to 1905.
06, and a slight falling off m the area subsequently. In
this District where the demand for fodder crops is very
great owing to the very limited area available for grazing, the
area under cotton has probably reached its maximum,
Its cultivation was formerly restricted to the better classes of
soil ; but owing to the great boom in the cotton trade and the
consequent rise in prices of late years, cotton is now often
grown on light inferior soils. The quality of the cotton
depends largely on the quality of the soil on which it is grown.
On khardl poor soils it can only be grown profitably while
high prices prevail, and any considerable fall in prices would
result in the substitution of sesamum or some of the smaller
millets which make less demand on the plant food of the soil.
To succeed under the climatic conditions which prevail in the
District the cotton grown should mature m about five months,
BO that at least one good picking is obtained before the cold
weather.
173. The two indigenous varieties grown, namely jan
(Kati Vilayati) and banl (Hmganghat
or Ghat Mpas) mature m about 5 and
5I months respectively. Theyiin (Gossyptmi neglectmi) is one
of the coarsest and shortest stapled cottons produced m India.
Its origin is not well known. It is said that the jari grown
thirty years ago was comparatively a superior cotton, that it
spun up to i6's or even 20’s and was in demand in the
Bombay market for export to England. The present jari
falls far short of this description. Its staple is coarse and
short, at its best it spins up to lo’s only, and it no longer finds
a market m England, not being suitable for use in the
jga AMRA6TI DISTRICT. , AGRICUtTURE.
Lancashire mills. The introduction of the coarser strain is
said to date from about the yeai 1873. In that year white
flowered cotton, which was said to give 50 per cent, of lint,
which iipened early and which was a most prolific yielder,
was introduced into Berar from Khandesh. The first
cultivators of this new introduction, having observed that
the seed possessed a shaip beak resembling a thoin, and
having concluded that it was a foreign variety, named it
Kati Vilayati or ‘ thorned English.’ The Kati Vilayati proved
to be a most vigorous grower and a big yielder, and readily
adapted itself to the soil and climatic conditions. Its
botanical designation is Neglectum roseum and Negledum roseuw
cutchca, there being two types with white flowers but the one
giving a slightly better lint than the other. The jan which it
has largely supplanted was most likely of the two finei -stapled
types, VIZ. Neglectum malvenm and Neglectum venm, mixed
with a fairly high percentage of haul ( Gossyptnm indicunt) which
was the predominant cotton in those days. These are rather
later in maturing than the two coarser types which now
predominate. The percentage of the coarser type in this
mixture has gradually increased until the jan of the present
days often contains from 70 to 80 of the coarser, i,e., the
rosemu type. The reason would seem to be that Kati
Vilayati is a hardy cotton with a heavy yield, which despite its
coarseness finds a ready maiket at a good price both foi
export and for the use of Indian mills. It is exported mainly
to Germany and Japan where it is found very suitable for
mixing with wool in the manufacture of coarse woollen
fabrics ; in this country the existence of a large quantity of
machinery especially constructed for dealing with short-stapled
cotton also gives it an artificial value. The ryot, recognising
that Kati Vilayati is a hardy cotton, that it suffers less than
other vaiieties from the exigencies of the climate, and gives
laige fluffy bolls with a very high percentage of lint to
seed, prefers it to the finer types which have less bulky
bolls. The good cultivator, who used formerly to select and
gin his orvn seed and still does to some extent, selected only
the big fluffy bolls, i.e„ bolls of the meum type. The
percentage of the coarser types m this mixed cotton known
as pn has thus gradually increased at the expense of the
CROPS.
193
finer. Cotton buyers in Berar at the present day recognise
two kinds of javl cotton, gaorani and howri. Gaorani is of
better staple but gives only 33 or 34 per cent, of lint ; howri
on the other hand gives 36 per cent, or even more of lint but
the staple is much shorter* The difference in staple would
seem to depend on the percentage of the line-stapled types
present in the mixture, which percentage varies considerably
in different villages.
174. Bam, Hinganghat or Ghat hapns (Gossypium indimm)
IS a cotton of long staple and silky fibre.
The percentage of hnt to seed is about
26 compared with 32 per cent, for the finer types of jarl and
40 per cent, for the coaiser. Its staple is about i inch in
length as compared with | inch for the coarser types of jarl.
It has been almost entirely ousted from the District by the
jarl mixture now grown, and is never grown nowadays as a
pure crop. This variety formerly known as Hinganghat or
Ghat hapds had earned for itself a name and was exported
in large quantities to England long before power spinning and
weaving had made much headway in India. When grown
pure, it was suitable for spinning 40’s. The price of lanl
hapds is Rs. 2 or Rs. 3 more per hhandl than that of jarl,
but jarl gives a much heavier yield than the former, more
especially in years of drought or excessive rainfall. Banl is
altogether a more delicate plant and less profitable at present
prices.
175. Upland Georgian {Gossypium hmiitum) is an acclima-
,, , . tized American variety which was
Upland Georgian. , , •' , ,
introduced about thiity years ago. It is
known locally as ghogli. It is equal to hanl m length of fibre
and will spin up to 40’s , but has deteriorated very much m
strength. The total area under this variety as a pure crop is
insignificant, but it can be seen growing as a mixture to the
extent of one or two per cent, in every cotton field.
176. Another exotic variety which is now being tried is
hurl {Gossypium hmiitum) an American
Upland cotton acclimatized in Bengal.
Seed of this variety was obtained nearly four years ago from
the Inspector-General of Agriculture and has since been grown
13
AMRAOTI DISTRICT, AGUICOLTUKE,
successfully at the Government Experimental stations. Its
hnt IS as good as that of haul ; the percentage of lint to seed
IS 33 as compared with 26 for banl , it yields well and the
lint is woith 50 per cent, more than that of Jan. This very
desirable cotton is now under trial and the results so far
have been distinctly promising.
177. Cotton being the most profitable crop grown is
Rotation always recognised as the principal crop
of a rotation. In awal kali, inorandi and
mail soils it is sometimes grown continuously year after year
in the same field without any rotation with another crop.
Though this is contradictory to all the laws of scientific
farming, there is not the least doubt that it pays the
cultivator. The cotton plant is tap-iooted and being a deep
but not greedy feeder, does not readily exhaust the soil,
In growing cotton or any other crop continuously on
the same land there is always the iisk, however, of
encouraging insect pests. The Berar cultivator avoids this
by removing all the cotton stalks from his fields in March.
Where a rotation is followed it is generally cotton-juari ; or
cotton-colton-juari , this is a good rotation, as juan being a
shallow feeder draws its food supply from the surface soil.
Cotton after rah crops such as wheat, linseed, gram and cold
season til is less common, except m a part of Ellichpur,
Amraoti and Daryapur taluks. It is the practice all over the
District to sow two lines of tur to twelve or more of cotton
in cotton fields. The cultivator has a hazy idea of the fact that
tur is a soil renovator, though he is ignorant of the cause.
But the lines of tur serve another purpose in so far
as they divide up the field into sections of known
dimensions which enable him to gauge the amount of work
done by his labourers and the yield obtained fiom different
parts of the field. The tur also acts as a wind brake.
178 Much of the - cattle dung is used as fuel, and no
Manure. attempt is made to collect cattle urine.
Fields neai the large towns are some-
times manured with the town sweepings , and where large
herds of goats and sheep are kept, these are sometimes folded
in the fields at night. Artificial manures are not m usci but
CROPS,
nitrate of soda has been tried and has proved a profitable
manure when applied as a top-dressmg.
179, The tillage implements used foi cotton cultivation
. are the country plough ( mgar), wahhar,
' *'and"too1™*" ^ dhusa, danrd, dhundta, khurpl and sickle.
The heavy Berar nagay is a much
larger implement than the country plough of the Central
Provinces. The body is commonly made of the wood of the
bilbtil tree (Acacia arabica), which is very tough and durable,
and the beam of hibnl or Uwas ( Ougenia dalbergtoiks)
which is also very tough, strong and durable. The plough is
drawn by thxee pairs of bullocks and stirs the sod to a depth
of 9 or 10 inches ; but land in Berar is so ploughed only at
intervals of ten or fifteen years. The cost of the Berar nagar
IS Rs. 8. Some of the more enterprising cultivators are now
using Ransome’s turn-wrest plough, which they find to be an
excellent implement for fields over-run with ktlnda grass
( Andropogon pnnctaUis) and other obnoxious weeds. Its cost
is Rs. 41. The wahhar serves the purpose both of a plough
and a hanow. It is like a large scraper with a blade about
31 inches long and 4 inches deep. The blade is fixed to the
body of the wahhar by means of pegs made of babul wood.
The body is about 2| feet m length. The beam is usually
made of teak (Tectona grandts), tenmi (Dwspyros melanoxylon),
or tiwas. The wahhar is guided by means of a single
upright wooden stilt, is drawn by one pair of bullocks
and costs Rs. 4. With one pair of bullocks a man can
work from one to two acres in one day, the area depending
on the state of the soil. For deeper work the driver
stands upon the body of the wahhar. When the soil
has baked very hard or when the land is infested with a
thick growth of weeds, the light wahhar makes but little
impression on it, and the cultivator will in such cases use the
moghda or large wahhar, the body and the blade of which are
much larger and heavier. The moghda is drawn by two pairs
of bullocks and turns up the earth in clods and brings
weeds to the surface. It is often used for the first -wahharing.
The cross wahimmg is then done by the lighter wahhar drawn
by one pair of bullocks. When turned upside down after
removing the blade and worked as a clod-crusher, the imgMd
ig6 AMRAOTI DISTRICT. AGRICULTURE.
is called a pedhal. The implements used for interculture are
the dawd and dhundia ; these are miniatures of the wahhav, and
are used solely for intercnlture. The body of the damd is about
1 6 inches long with a blade lo inches long and 2 inches deep.
Its cost is R. 1-12-0. With two danras drawn by one pair of
bullocks two men can hoe from 2J to 3 acres of cotton daily.
The blade of the dhundia is of the same depth as that of the
daurd but is 4 inches longer. For interculture the cotton-grower
therefore, uses the daurd while the plants are small; when
they have grown somewhat larger the dhundia is used so as to
pare away the weeds growing near the rows and at the same
time to ridge up earth against the plants. Cotton is generally
sown in this District by the dhim. The ^dhdsa resembles a
wakhav except that the blade and pegs have been removed
and two wooden tines are substituted ; these tines form
the drills. Two hollow bamboos called sartd are attached by a
string immediately in the rear of the tines; through these the
seed is dropped. Two wakhars are usually worked behind the
dhiisa to cover the seed with soil. With one man to drive
the 'bullocks and two women to drop in the seed, they can
SOW' about 4 acres of land in one day. Sowing is sometimes
done with the wakhar, in which case only one sartd, is used ;
but, this method is a slow one and is only practised by the
poorer cultivators. Sowing is commenced during the first
break that occurs after the first good fall of lam, which is usually
about the third week of June. Some of the more enterprising
cultivators still follow, the practice, which was once fairly
common m Berar, pf sowing small areas before the rams.
The hand tools used are the khirpi and the sickle.
, 180, ' There are now ginning factories within easy reach
Seed selection. cotton-growlng village, and
factory ginned seed is commonly used
for sowing. The cultivator sows about 10 lbs. of handginned
seed and about 13 lbs. of the factory ginned seed per acre, The
objections to tbe latter seed are that much of ,it is damaged
m the process of ginning and that different varieties get mixed
■owing to careless handling. There is ope cotton seed farm
in Morsi talulc belonging to Mr. R. S. Pethe. The aim of
4he farm is to propagate and distubute to cultivators new and
CROtS. Ig^
Impioved strains of cotton seed that have been selected and
supplied by the Government Experiment Stations.
i8i. Less damage is done to cotton by insect pests in
, , Berar than in most cotton-growing
pests. tracts m India. Thjs is due (i) to the
soil being almost totally bare' of any
vegetation that would serve the purpose of a host plant for
these pests during the hot season, the cotton stalks being
uprooted in February or March, (2) the area under cotton is
large and compact and (3) the climate is dry and uncongenial
to the healthy development of such pests for the greater part
of the year. The pests that do an ' appreciable amount of
damage aie the cotton boll worm, the pink and red
cotton bug, the cotton stem borer, the leaf roller, aphides, and
grasshoppers. The moth of the boll worm (Eanas faUa)
lays its eggs on the leaves, stems, bracts and petals
of the cotton plant , the caterpillars are hatched in two or
three days and bore into the immature bolls and eat the seed;
they pupate later under ground or on the plant itself. In a
Week the moth emerges and the pest thus repeats its lifa-
history, multiplying enormously each time. The best
lemedial measure that can be adopted is to uproot and destroy
all cotton plants after the last picking. The pink and the
red cotton bug (Idl kin, Dysdenus ctngulaUts) lay their eggs
m cracks in the soil. The bug on emerging is wingless. It
moults five times, and after the third mpult the wings begin
to appear. The bug gradually increases in size, and is
able to fly after the last moult. Witli its long needle-like
beak it sucks the juice of, the green cotton boll and immature,
seeds, thereby destroying the seed and lint. It may also be.
Seen feeding on hhndl (Hibt$ci(s esmlentusj. The best
retnedial' measure is. to shake the bugs into a vessel containing
kerosinb and' water. The cotton stem borer {SphnopUm
gossypn) IS the grub of a beetle. The borer bores into
the core of the cotton plant and eats;, its way up the stem.
The plant gradually withers and dies. The borer pupates
in the stem and emerges as a beetle after 10 days. The .best
remedial measures are to uproot and burn all affected plants
and to destroy all the cotton plants after the last picking.
Amraoti district, agriculture.
Ig^
The moth of the cotton leaf roller (Sylepta derogata) lays its
eggs singly on the leaves of the cotton plant. The caterpillar
on emerging feeds on the leaves, rolls ^ one up and lives
inside it. They pupate within this leaf-house, emerge as
moths after lo days and couple and lay eggs. The rolled
leaves containing the roller should be picked by hand and
destroyed. The cotton blister beetle (Mylabns pustulata) eats
the flowers of cotton. Grasshoppers {mhtol of the family
Acvididiae) and crickets (jhmgra) eat the leaves of cotton in its
early stages. The bag method of collecting them has been
tried with some degree of success.
:82. Cotton wilt {Neocosmospora vasmfecia) is a fungoid
Cotton wilt disease which does a certain amount
of damage moie especially in the
rich soils where cotton is often grown year after
year without a break. The fungus first enters the smaller
roots, from which it spreads to the tap root and stem,
filling the water ducts with its mycelia, with the result that
the plant can no longer draw up its full food supply, and
consequently begins to wither and die. The plant so attacked
becomes dwarfed in appearance; the leaves turn yellow and
shrivel up, and the mam stem generally dies off. This may
lake a longer or a shorter period. In some cases the whole
plant is dead within 50 days from the time of sowing the
seed ; in other cases the plant only dies late in the season.
Some plants partially recover from the disease by developing
strong lateral branches after the death of the main stem.
The fungus is really a parasite which enters the vascular
system of the plant and feeds therein. Its reproductive bodies
or “ spores ” on germination give rise to the fungus plants.
Certain varieties of cotton are not subject to the disease, and
different plants of the same variety vary very considerably in
their degrees of resistance, some being readily attacked while
others are altogether immune. Burl cotton is immune from the
disease and is being introduced on the worst wilt-infested
areas of this District. Rotation of crops on these areas is
also desirable.
I99
183. The cost of cultivation and profit per acre when
Cost of cultivation cotton is grown after juan is shown
and profit __
Operations.
Time.
pe?acrc.
Removing juari stumps
\stwakhattHg ... ...
2nd do
Sowing .. .. ..
Wakhanng after sowing
Seed 12 lbs
Tur 2 lbs
Weeding
1st hoeing by detuta ...
Hand-weeding
2nd hoeing by dkmdta ..
8rd _ do. do.
Hoeing up to September with
dhwtdia
Hand-weeding . ...
Picking
Watching
March
March or April
May .„
2nd fortnight of June ...
Do.
Do.
Do
1st fortnight of July
Middle or end of July
End of July
Beginning of August
20th of August
From August to Septenaber ..
October
From November to January .
From October to January ...
Rs. A.
0 3
1 0
0 12
0 12
0 8
0 8
0 2
I 0
0 8
1 4
0 8
0 8
3 0
1 4
3 12
2 0
2 0
Government revenue j
Total .
19 9
Outturn in lbs.
Value,
Seed-cotton (Jiapili) 420 lbs, at Rs. 50 a Mtandi of 560 lbs. ...
Tur 75 at 25 lbs a rupee
Til 20 at 14 tbs, a rupee ...
Rs. A,
37 8
3 0
1 7
Total ...
Deduct ..
41 " IS
19 9
Net profit ...
22 6’
Governftient assessment' is included under cost of culti-
‘vation, it varies for different classes of soil. The cost of
cultivation is reckoned on the supposition that all the oper-
ations are performed by hired labour, and is therefore rathef
misleading, as the Kunbi cultivator maintains his own
establishment of bullocks and implements, and if hjs farm is
not a large one, much of the manual labour is performed
by himself and his family. Under these conditions his
AMRAOTI biSTRfCT. AGRICULTURE.
farming profits are higher than that shown in the statement.
184. Juan iAndropogon sorghum) is grown on all the different
classes of soils in the District. The later
and heavier yielding varieties are usually
grown on the deeper soils which are moie retentive of
moisture ; while the earlier varieties, except in years of short
rainfall, do fairly well on the lighter soils. The varieties may
be classified, according to the time required for ripening, into
early, medium and lg.te varieties. For the heavier soils
aimur is the most commonly grown, while mmkel, which
matures three weeks earlier, is widely grown on medium
and light soils. The varieties are more or less mixed but less
so than in the case of other crops, as the cultivator almost
invariably selects his seed on the threshing floor. He is not
a systematic botanist, but he has fairly definite ideas as to
the difference between the varieties grown. Amner is a late
variety with fairly compact, long oval heads set with large
flat seeds. The gram when well developed is the
largest of all Berar varieties. The seed which is hard and
yellowish in colour is considered the best among late varieties
for eating. Rdmhel has a long loosely filled head supported
on an erect stalk. The grain is large and creamy white in
colour. Rftmkel is one of the best and most widely grown
varieties in Berai, adapted to light as well as medium
soils. Gtmjaolt- has a fairly compact head with red seed. The
seed is well filled and round, but is considered a very inferior
variety for eating ; it is grown on medium soils along the foot
of the hills. As a mixture, it can be seen m almost every
juari field. Phalpali or motUura is a loose headed variety not
commonly grown. The gram is small, well filled and oval
shaped, and is used for malcing iTiU (parched gram). It is
not so much damaged by birds as the compact-headed
varieties. Other varieties grown are jagdhmt, an early loose-
headed variety with white gram, manmodt, a medium variety
with compact heads, ganeri and dukartondl, late varieties with
yellow gram grown on heavy soils, and several varieties known
as wants whose grain is roasted and eaten when green. In
this state the gram known as hurdtl is sweet and tasty. The
chief wants are mohamm, hhdtwdni, nanhwanii pivliwdni and
(hdrodminii
CROPd.
ioi
185. The land for juan is prepared in the same way and
Juan cultivation. ^ime as that for cotton, but
usually only one wakhanng is given
before the rams. Another wakhaying to kill the weeds is given
before the seed is sown which is generally about the middle
of July. The seed is sown with a three-tined seed drill
or tiffan. The body (khav) of the Uffiin is from 3I to 4 feet
in length. It is set with 3 tines at distances of from 13 to
18 inches apart. The lesser width is used for poorer soils
and IS in common use in Morsi and Chandur taluks ;
the latter is used for the more fertile soils such as those
of Daryapur, Ellichpur and Amraoti taluks. The drills are
fixed into wooden sockets in the body and are shod
with small iron shares These drills meet in a wooden
bowl at the top into which seed is fed. The seed rate varies
from 2 to 61bs. an acre. After the tiffan two wahJiars are
worked to level the furrows and to kill weeds. Hoeing with
the dami is commenced about three weeks after sowing and
IS repeated three or four times at intervals of a fortnight or so.
In good soil where the drills are 18 inches apart the last
hoeings are done with the dhuridm. One or more hand-weedings
are given. At this time the women also remove the dried
leaves from the two lowest internodes. This is supposed to
enable the heads to fill better by letting m more air.
186. In December the crop is ready for harvesting. It is
reaped with small sickles, the reaper
threshmg^lrJ taking eight lines at a time. The
stalks aie laid togethei in bundles
which are left to dry for about a week. The heads are cut
off and removed to the threshing floor ; the stalks are firmly
bound and stacked in the field. The threshing floor is a
circular piece of ground selected for the purpose within easy
reach of the field. All weeds and grass are carefully removed
from it, and it is made firm by pounding it with mallets or by
walktng cattle over it, the hardened surface being smeared
with cowdung. The heads of juari are spread in a layer
abou}: 6 inches deep in a circle round an upright post fixed in
the centre of the floor. One bullock is so tied to this post that
he can walk freely round it and not entangle the tying rope ,
other bullocks tied each neck-to-neck are arranged alongside
aMraot'i district*, agriculture.
the first. They are made to march round m a line, forming
the radius of the circle, treading out the gram at every step.
The biblical injunction “ muzzle not the ox that treadeth out
the corn ” is disregarded by the Indian cultivator who muzzles
his bullocks very effectively by the use of a net in the foim of
a bag which covers the animal’s mouth. Sometimes bullocks
yoked to a cart are used instead, in which case the wheels help
to separate the gram.
187. To winnow the grain one man stands on a stool or
Winnowing platform erected for the purpose, and a
second man hands him baskets full of
the mixed grain and chaff from the threshing floor. The
gram is poured from his basket or sup to the ground below.
This is done when the hot winds of March aie blowing. The
heavy gram falls straight down , the chaff is blown beyond it.
A man standing below with a broom m his hand brushes
aside any bits of straw that may have fallen among the
gram. The stalks (karbl) and chaff form the staple cattle
fodder, and the gram is the staple food of the cultivator and his
labourers.
188. An enormous amount of damage is done every year
Juan pests birds, the greatest depre-
dator being the juari bird (bona).
They come in such myriads to eat the grain that a
negligent farmer is left with but little save the stalks
and glumes. To protect his ripening crop the thrifty culti-
vator erects in each area of about 6 acres a platform ten
or twelve feet high. From daylight to sunset he sits m one
of these armed with a sling, and by uttering wild yells and
slinging earth or stones, he scares away these unwelcome’
visitors. Some damage is done to the crop in its early stages
by herd.s of blackbuck (h%van) and wild pig. The chief
insect pest of juari is a borer locally known as nmrad and
mini, the only difference being that the pest is known as miivad
when it attacks the young juan shoots of from 6 inches to
1 foot high, and as mni when it attacks the full-grown
stems. In the first case the attacked plants often tiller*
freely and may give a good yield. The moth of the juari
stem borer ( Chilo simplex) lays clusters of eggs on the leaves.
In four or five days caterpillars emerge, which fust feed off
dROPS.
20 ^
the tender leaves of the juari and then bore into the stems
near the root. The caterpillar eats its way upwards through
the stem, thereby damaging the plant. The stem attacked dies ,
but the plant if still small sends up fresh shoots from the
root. The caterpillar pupates inside the stem, in which state
it remains from one to two weeks. The moth enieiges from
the pupa, crawls outside, couples and again lays eggs. The
same pest attacks sugarcane and maize. Affected plants
should be uprooted and destroyed and all the juari stubble
should be removed after harvesting the crop. At long inter-
vals the District is visited by swarms of Bombay locusts
{Acndimn succmiim) which damage this and other Mmlf
crops. The female of the Bombay locust couples and lays
Its eggs in clusters of one or two hundred at a depth of
about half an inch m light soil, burying half its abdomen m
the soil while doing so. The hoppers after hatching feed on
grass, juari and other green crops. They moult seven tunes ;
after the last moult their wings develop and they fly in swarms
ravenously feeding on the crops on which they alight. The
locust lives about one year and then dies after laying eggs
The only practical method of dealing with this pest is the bag
method. The mouth of the bag is kept open by a rectangular
frame work of bamboos 12 feet by 3. The bag carried by two
men is swept over the field infested with the hoppers, which
on being disturbed jump and fall into it where they can be
killed at leisure. This method was tried m juaii fields in
1904 with some success.
i8g. Juan is not much affected by rust. Smut (Ustikgo
sofghu) a parasitic fungus which con-
^^parasltic weeds?”'* verts the gram into a foul, dark-coloured
powder is, however, very common.
The damage done by it can be almost entirely prevented by
steeping the seed in a i per cent, solution of copper sulphate.
The use of this fungicide is understood by and is now
practised by a few cultivatois ; some cultivatois steep
their seed m cow’s urine which acts as a fungicide ; they
also attribute to urine the power of preventing the seed
from being eaten by insects in the soil. Tavli or agia
iStnga hvmia), a parasitic weed, attaches itself to the toots
of judri and sugarcane, feediflg on the juice of the plant
AMkAOTI blSTRlCf. AGRICtjL'l'ykE.
io4
and thereby checking its growth. The crop on an area in-
fested with tavh becomes yellow in appearance frequent
vfeedmg is the only chance of saving it.
Cost of cultivation
and profit
190. The cost of cultivation and
profit per acre of juan is shown
below. —
Operationa.
Time.
Cost.
Wakhanng twice in hot season.
Wakbanng befote sowing
Sowing .
Seed
1st hoeing
1st hand weeding
Two more hoeings
2nd hand weeding
4th hoeing
Watching
Harvesting
Threshing and winnowing
Government assessment
April and May ...
Beginning of duly
2nd fortnight of July
Do.
Three weeks after sowing
Fortnight after hoeing. .
September to October,...
October
Do
November to December ,.
December
December
Rs A.
1 12
1 0
1 8
0 4
0 7
1 0
0 14
1 4
0 7
2 0
4 12
1 0
2 0
Total .
18 4
Outturn ii
1 lbs
I Value.
Juari grain 640 lbs
Juari karbi 150 bundles
Miing _ 32 lbs.
Ambari 4 „
Bhusa
•" ::: ;• ir T
Rs. A.
20 0
6 0 ,
1 4
0 8
2 6
Total ..
Deduct
30 2
18 4
Net profit ...
11 14
igi. Tur (Cajams tndtcus) is mostly grown along with
cotton in the proportion of two lines of
' tur to twelve or more of cotton. It is
also grown at times as a pure crop. Being a leguminous
crop it will give a fan: outturn on land tliat is considered too
poor for cotton, to which it is usually confined as a pure
crop. There are two common varieties, a red-seeded and a
white-seeded variety. Of these, the red variety is supposed
to give the better pulse. There is a variety known aS'
CKOPS,
205
minkati, a variety of arhar (Cajaniis bicolor) which is some-
times grown in gardens. Il has a led seed and comes to
maturity m March, It glows much taller than the earlier
varieties. The seed rate of tur per acre is 6 lbs., and its out-
turn as an independent crop about 400 lbs As a subordinate
crop with cotton it will yield under veiy favourable conditions
about 100 lbs. The cost of cultivation per acre is shown
below : —
Operations,
Two wakhanngs in hot season ...
Sowing ...
Seed, 6 lbs .. ...
First hoeing m July or August ...
Weeding in end ot August
Three more hoeings up to September
Harvesting ... .
Threshing and winnowing
Government assessment
Cost.
Outturn 400 lbs.
BhSsa
Total
Deduct
Net pioflt
.. I 7 10
192. In certain patches of soil a wilt disease almost
Diseases and pests. ^variably attacks this crop from year
to year , but the damage which it does
in the District as a whole is very little. Early frost which in
the north of the Central Provinces is so destructive to tur m
certain seasons, is unknown here. The tur leaf caterpillar,
(Eucehs critica), which feeds on the tender upper leaves
of the tur plant, twists the leaves into a knot in which it
lives. It pupates inside the twisted leaves and emerges
as a tiny black moth. The twisted leaves containing the
pupa should be handpicked. The tur plume moth (Exelastis
parmU) lays its single blue eggs on the pods of ,tur. These
hatch as small caterpillars, bore inside the pods and feed on
the seeds. When fully fed they come out and pupate
on the pods. After 4 or 5 days they emerge as moths.
Handpicking is the only remedy recommended. The tiir
2o6
AMRAOTI district. AGRICULTURE.
pod fly of the genus Muscida Acalyptratgi lays eggs in the
tur pod, by piercing the shell with her ovipositor. The
maggot, after hatching, feeds upon the seed. When fully fed
it pupates inside the pod and a fly emerges within a week,
193. There are two varieties of lil (Sesamim mdkum), one
with black seed and the other white
seed. The foimer is the one widely
grown ; it ripens rather later than the other. On black soils
rainy season til is grown mixed with cotton seed at the rate
of about 5 tolas per acre ; on lighter soils it is giown as an
independent crop. For rainy season til the soil is prepared
in the same manner as for cotton, and the seed is sown with
a tiffan with wakhan working behind. Cold season til is sown
either with the tiffan or the two-tined cotton seed drill. The
seed rate is a lbs. an acre. To secure its equal distribution it
is mixed with fine sand or earth. When the plants are about
8 inches high the crop is hoed with the dmim and then hand-
weeded. After this two more hoeings are sufficient. The
crop is ready for harvesting in October and is cut and
taken to the threshing floor to dry. The oil is extracted by
simple pressure in a pestle-mill. The cake is used as cattle
food and the oil for human consumption, for lamps and as an
ointment for the body. The stalks are mostly used for fuel.
The cost of cultivation is shown below ; —
Operations.
Cost.
Two wakhanngs ...
Sowing
Seed 2lbs
First hoeing
Hand weeding
Two more hoeings „.
Harvesting
Cleaning
Government assessment
Ks. A.
1 12
1 4
0 2
0 7
1 0
0 14
1 4
1 0
1 8
Total
CROPS.
207
As it is a hardy crop and is usually grown on poor soils,
the yield per acre is proportionately small. The average for
poor soil may be taken as 250 lbs. which is worth about
Rs. 18, giving a net profit per acre of Rs. 8-13.
194. The damage done by insect pests is not very severe ;
Insect pests. being the til sphinx {Achmntia
styx) better known as the hawk
moth, the til leaf roller [Anttgasim catalaunahs) and the til
hairy caterpillar {Diacnsia ohliqua). Handpicking and thorough
cultivation after harvesting the crop to destroy the pupae
underground are the only lemedies known.
195. Uiad {Phaseolus radiatiis) is mostly grown in the
Melghat. It is sown on the lighter
soils such as momudt and khardi. It is
grown alternately with cotton and juari or grown as a
subordinate crop with the latter. Being a leguminous crop
it renovates the soil. In seasons of good lainfall its growth
is checked by the principal crop when grown as a mixture ;
but m years of short rainfall it may contribute the greater
proportion of the outturn. The following statement shows
the cost of cultivation per acre when sown as a mixture with
juari : —
Operations,
Time.
Cost
per acre,
TvtO’Wakharings
April and May
Rs. A.
1 12
Sowing with the dhtisa
1 4
Seed
0 8
1st hoeing
0 7
Hand weeding
do
1 0
2nd hoeing
August beginning
0 7
Harvesting
September or October
1 6
Threshing and winnowing ...
October
I 8
Government assessment
1 4
Hoeing juari after harvesting
November or December ...
0 7
Harvesting and threshing
juari
do. <
1 8
Total ...
11 7
2o8
AMRAOTI DISTRICT, AGRICOLTURR,
Outturn, j
1 Value.
Rs. A.
Urad
300 lbs
12 0
Bhiisa
^6 dalas ...
4 0
Juan
100 lbs
3 2
Karbl ...
20 pnias
0 13
Total ...
10 15
Deduct
11 7
Net profit
8 8
196. On the poor soils in the Melghat, Morsi and Chandur
Bajra or spiked millet (Penmsetum typJwtdeum) is
sometimes grown as an independent
crop. In these taluks it is also grown as a mixture with cotton
in the proportion of one line of the former to 12 or 15 of the
latter, but the proper place for hajra is a poor light soil
where cotton and juari cannot be grown economically. Like
juan it supplies the lyot with bread for himself and fodder
for his bullocks. The gram is said to be heating and to have
a tendency to induce diarrhoea ; but when mixed with juari
IS very wholesome. Except in years in which the crop comes
to grief owing to heavy rams at the time of flowering, it is
more dependable than the more profitable crops,
The cost of cultivation per acre is shown below.
Operations.
Time.
Cost.
Wakharmg (twicel in hot weather,,.
April — May .
Rs. A.
1 12
Wakharing (once) during rains
July
0 12
Sowing w'ith" 3 tihed seed-drill ...
August
1 4
Seed, ?lbs
August
0 4
Hoeing ...
August end ...
0 7
Hand weeding „
September ... ...
1 4
2nd hoeing ...
September ...
0 7
Watching for about 2S days
September and October
0 10
Harvesting ... ... ...
October
1 12
Threshing!
October ... ...
0 8
Government assessment ...
Oc'tubtt ,. ...
1 0
Total ...
10 0
CROPS.
209
Outturn.
Value.
SOOlbs. at 12 seers for rupee one
Rs. A.
12 8
7S piilcfs of fodder ...
..
3 0
Total ...
IS 8
Deduct ..
10 0
Net profit ...
s T
197. There are two varieties of tobacco {NicoUana tahacnm)
Tobacco which are locally known as bandn
and hani. Bmidri has a broad leaf with
a very thick midrib and is used both for smoking and
chewing. Bani has a long but narrow leaf and is inferior to
handri both in the quality and quantity of its yield. The very
best soil for tobacco cultivation is pandhri but hlb, nidi
movandi and shorati are also suitable where there is sufficient
water available. Tobacco is grown in neaily every village in
the District, but only on very small plots. The aiea under
this crop last year {1907-08) was 1904 acres.
198. Tobacco seed is first sown in a nursery in a seed bed
„ , 7 feet by 7, raised about 3 inches above
Cultivation. , , .r.. , . ,
the ground level. The sou is finely
pulverized and manured with cattle dung and ashes. At
the* commencement of the rains the seed is sown broadcast
and lightly worked m. If there is a long break m the rains
the seedlings are watered by hand in the evening of
every third day. In order to protect seedlings from the
severe heat of the sun, branches of trees are spread over the
bed. In the very early stages weeding is essential ;
otherwise, the seedlings are smothered by growing weeds.
By about the ist of August they are 6 inches high and are fit for
transplanting. Tobacco is usually grown in pandhn soil ; in
this soil tobacco followed by tobacco year after year is said
to yield well, and to improve in quality. It is sometimes
grown after the staple crops of the District, cotton and juari.
To prepare the ground for tobacco the land is ploughed, and
cross-ploughed with the country fiag(f,y and then wahhand.
The stumps of the previous crop are collected and burnt and
14
210
AMRAOTI DISTRICT, AGRICULTURS.
the field manured with cattle-dung at the rate of 20 cart loads
per acre and again wahhared before the rains. After the
outbreak of the rains two more wakharkgs are given, and
towards the end of July the land is levelled by means of the
wahhay worked upside down. The young seedlings are
transplanted out m lows about 21 inches apart and about 18
inches apart in the rows. This regularity in planting enables
the hoe to be used lengthways and crossways in the field. If the
crop IS to be irrigated, and if there is no lam at the time the
seedhngs are ready for transplanting, the soil is raised into ridges
21 inches apart and cross ndges 7 feet apart by means of a daurn
with a rope wound round the blade. In this way the land is
divided into beds which can be easily irrigated, the water
being run through the furrows. The seedhngs are planted
on the ridges. The crop is carefully weeded by hand at intervals
of about a foitnight. In the month of October, when plants
are about 3 or 4 feet high, the top shoot and the lower and
coarser leaves of each plants are nipped off. This work is
done by women who use their fingers for the purpose.
Should there be water available the ciop is irrigated once a
month during the dry weather ; but irrigation is not
absolutely necessary and tobacco is grown to a large
extent without it. When the crop is mature the plants are
cut before daybreak and ananged in a line with the lower
half of one plant covered by the upper half of the next so
that of each plant the top portion only is exposed, After
ly ng thus for eight or ten days and after the midrib has
become sufficiently dry the plants are inverted so as to get
both sides dried evenly. On the evening of the fourth day
they are watered and on the following day stacked with the
tops downwards. If the leaves are not sufficiently moist they
are again watered. About noon next day leaves are separated
from the stems by women who at the same time separate the
best leaves {dhdl) from the inferior ones {bhurkd). The
leaves are made into bundles which are stored in a well-
ventilated room m heaps 3 feet diameter and 5 high. The
heaps are taken down, the leaves examined and rotting ones
lomoved every third day during the first month and once
a week later, till the bundles are all dry. The cost of
cultivation per acre is shown below:—
Operations.
Time.
Cost,
Ploughing
Wakharmg before rains ... ...
Collecting stumps of previous crop
Manure ... ,
Wakharmg before transplanting
Levelling with pathad ...
Cost of seedlings for an acre
Planting tobacco
Weeding ...
Hoeing 6 times
Nipping off suchers
Curing
Government Assessment
March or April
May to June „
May to June
May to June ...
June— July
August (beginning)
August ... ,,,
August or September .,
September and October „
October, November, anc
December
January to March
Total ...
Rs. A.
12 0
3 0
0 4
20 0
1 0
0 4
6 0
5 U
2 0
10 8
18 0
16 8
2 0
96 S
Outturn. I
Value.
640 lbs. at 4 lbs per rupee
Rs. A.
160 0
Bhurki (from ratoon crop) 80 lbs. at As* 1 6 per lb
7 8
Total ...
167 "T
Deduct ...
96 8
Net profit ...
71 0
igg. In this Distiict wheat (Tntiam sativum) is a more
difficult crop to grow than cotton. In
years of short rainfall it fares badly ; in
normal years it is much less profitable than cotton. The
area under this crop last year was only 81,780 acres. As
the area under cotton has increased that under wheat
has decreased. Thet hdli is the best wheat soil. In
Chanur and Morsi taluks Imwrd (hard white) and Miha
(hardred) wheats are grown. In the Puma valley a mixture
of white and red wheat locally known as chdwal
hatha is grown, Bansl is also common. Wheat is a good
preparation for cotton ; wheat-cotton, and wheat-cotton-
juari are considered good rotations for deep black sod.
The growing of wheat and gram mixed, as practised in ‘
the wheat tract, is unknown. The seed rate is only
212
AMRAOTI DISTRICT, AGRICULTURE,
40 lbs. per acie ; it is ^sown with the heavy roU Uffan
drawn by two or three pairs of bullocks. The cost of
cultivation per acre is shown below : —
Operations.
Time.
Cost.
Rs. A.
Two wakliartngi,,,
April and May ... .,
I 12
Removing stumps of previous crop..
May I
0 4
Wakhartng 4 times
June to October
4 0
Wakhanng at time of sowing
End of October or begin
ning ot November
0 12
Sowing ...
1 10
Seed, 40 lbs. per acre
3 0
Harvesting
March
3 0
Threshing and winnowing
April ...
2 0
Government assessment
2 0
Total ..
18 6
Outturn,
1
Value.
Rs. A.
400 lbs, at 8 seers per rupee
25 0
Wheat bhusa about 10 daWs at 8 dalas a rupee ...
1 4
Total ...
26 4
Deduct ...
18 6
Net profit ...
7 14
200. The area under gram (Ctcw- mttimmi) last year was
22,891 awes. There are two varieties
grown, one with brownish seed and the
other with white seed. This crop is grown on all the
different classes of soil ; the cultivation required is similar to
that of wheat. The seed rate is about 25 lbs, an acre. The
Crops.
cost of cultivation and profits per acre thereon are shown
below : —
Operations.
Time.
Cost,
Rs. A,
Two -wakliayings ... ... »
April to May ...
1 12
Removing stumps of previous crop...
May
1) 4
Wakharing 4 times
June to September ...
4 0
Sowing with Rabi drill
Last week of Sept-
ember
1 10
Seed 24 lbs per acre
.
Harvesting ..
February to March .
3 0
Threshing and cleaning ... ...
March
2 0
Government assessment
2 0
Total ... 1
16 2
Outturn per afire 400 lbs. at 22 lbs . a
rupee „*
18 3
BhUsa 12 dala!i at 3 dalds for 1 Rupee
4 0
Total ...
22 3
Deduct ...
16 2
Net profit ...
6 1
201. The only pest of importance is the gram poclcater-
Inscct esta pillar (Chloytdes obsokta). There is no
practical method known of dealing
with this pest.
202. Of linseed (Liniim iisUatissimiim) the variety grown is
^ the red. The cultivation and soils
* * suitable for this ciop are the same as
for wheat, but it is sown rather earlier. The cultivator first
sows gram or lakh, then linseed and then wheat. It is gen-
erally sown about the middle of October. The seed rate is
i2lbs. per acre and the outturn 300 to 320 lbs., the value of
which IS Rs. 22. Like wheat, linseed has had to make
way for cotton and juari ; the area grown last year
was only 10,045 acres. The only disease that affects the crop
IS rust which is not very common. When grown too often on
the same soil the crop suffers as the soil becomes linseed sick.
203. Masur {Ervimi tm) and safftower {CaHhamns iim-
toms) are only grown on a very small
scale.
Masflr and Safflower.
214
AilRAOTI bISTRICT. AGRICULTbRS.
204. Gaiden cultivation is well understood and is of some
Garden cultivation.
importance more especially in parts
of Morsi and Ellichpur taluks. In
some parts of these taluks the water is less than
20 feet from the surface and plentiful. In 1907-08, 7453
acres were under 11 rigated crops, most of which were occupied
by chillies, tobacco and turmeric. There were also 1219
acres of vegetables and 159 acres of orchards all of which
require intensive cultivation The area of a single vegetable
garden is generally less than one acre. The land is almost
continuously under crops, for when one is harvested the plot
IS prepared for the next crop. In the corners and on the
borders of a plot sown with one crop, small quantities of
other vegetables are grown so as to occupy every part of the
area. The profits obtained from garden cultivation per acre
are high compared with those earned by the ordinary dry-crop
farmer. On the other hand the area cultivated by one man
is very small and requires much moie labour and capital.
Garden lands iriigated from wells sunk previous to the
original settlement are assessed at the highest dry crop maxi-
mum rate of the group of villages to which they belong.
Lands irrigated from wells sunlc during the currency of the
lease are treated as dry ciop lands. The fruit gardens
are not so skilfully managed. They belong mostly to
Marwaris, Brahman pleaders and other well-to-do people, who
have taken to this form of gardening as a hobby. The best
fruit gardens are to be found in the towns of Ellichpur and
Amraoti. The general defects to be noticed everywhere are
the neglect of pruning and of cultivation round the trees. For
want of pruning the vitality of the tree is largely spent in
producing wood rather than fruit ; while by neglect to keep
the surface soil round the tree well scarified, excessive
evaporation and the consequent loss of sod moisture are allowed
to check the growth of the tree. The fruits chiefly grown are
mangoes {Mangifera iudtea), oianges (Citrus aumitmm), guavas
(Psidtum giWTO), plantains (ik/wiff sapientmi), limes (Cttrus largania)
and papayas (Corica papaya). Grafted mangoes are grown in
the gardens in the larger towns. In the garden of Mr. Ganesh
Nagesh Sahasrabudhe, Vice-Chairman of the Ellichpur
Municipality, may be seen 500 of the finest grafted varieties,
6feoPS.
including the Alphonso, Pain and other desirable types, As
these mango gardens often cover an area of several acres,
difficulty IS experienced m giving them sufficient water during
the first two years of their growth. The common mango,
groves of which may be seen everywhere in the District, being
more drought resistant, fares much bettei in this respect.
When there is cloudy weather and thunderstorms at the time
of flowering, the flowers instead of developing into fruit die off,
as if burnt. The failuie is most likely due to the state of the
weather preventing the fertilization of the flowers. There are
two kinds of common mangoes • the one is rather hard and
tastes of turpentine ; the other, found at Ellichpur, is more juicy.
The former is used for making chutney, mango fool, etc., the
latter is eaten. These mangoes are common in all parts
of the District, being hardy and requiring no irrigation.
When a cultivator wishes to grow mangoes he plants
seeds in lows about 30 feet apart each way in the
beginning of the rainy season. In the hot season the
young plants are fenced with brushwood, which serves to
shade them from the sun and to protect them from goats and
other animals. As the plants are not iirigated they make very
little progress except during the rams. The land between the
rows IS sown with the ordinary farm crops till such time as
the mango trees shade the ground thoroughly. The first crop
is obtained in the tenth year. One good mango tree will
yield about 5000 mangoes which are worth from Rs. 8
to Rs. 10,
205. In this Distiict oranges are probably a recent intro*
Orange etc duction seeing that they are not grown
® by the Mall caste. Momndi and ktk are
considered good soils for oranges. The young trees are
planted during the rams in pits 18 inches apait each way and are
liberally manured. A shallow basin about 3 inches in diameter
IS made round each plant and is connected with a channel run-
ning midway between the rows. The plants are irrigated at
intervals of 10 or 12 days during the cold weather, and at
intervals of 6 days during the hot season. They are manured
with cowdung before and at the end of the rains. The trees
begin to bear m five years, and are in fuU ■ bearing in seven
years. For the first three years the space between the roivs
AUkAOTI DISTRICT. AGRICiULTljRk.
li6
IS cropped with vegetables or other crops. Two crops are
obtained each year, one m November and December and one
in February and March. The oranges of the latter crop are
considered the better. One good tree yields from 500 to 1000
fruit, at which rate the trees on one acie will yield about
67,000 oranges which at Rs. 10 a thousand are worth Rs. 670 ;
but the outturn is seldom more than half that. The chief
insect pests are a caterpillar {ytrchala isocvates) which bores
the fruit, and a stem borer {Chlortdolim alcmene). The cost of
establishing an orange garden of one acre is reckoned to
be about Rs. 163, and the annual upkeep on the same about
Rs. 82, so that a thriving orange garden pays very well. The
variety grown is the Nagpur orange, but the taste is some-
what sharper.
Guava cultivation is understood and practised by the ordi-
nal y Mali ; plantains, limes, sweet and sour, and papayiis
are also common garden fruits In Chikalda peaches thrive
well and yield very good fruit for cooking purposes.
206. The implements required for garden cultivation are
Implements.
The water-lift is the ordinary mot or
leather bucket which in some places has been replaced by the
Sangli iron mot. There are several garden hand tools m
common use, including the kndall, kulhdd, phaum and vdkds.
All these are shaped more or less like an ordinary pickaxe,
varying only in the breadth and slope of the head.
They cost from two to eight annas and are used for
digging trenches, ridging, and for uprooting such crops as
onions, ground-nut and carrots.
207. The chief gardens in the District are the Government
Gardens m the District. ^'">'“ti Ca'mp’and Chikalda
and the Municipal and Jail gardens
at the former place. The Namdar Bag of Ellichpur, a once
famous garden, is now in rums.
208. Among the crops grown in the neighbourhood of
Chillies. villages, chillies {Capsicum fmtescens)
hold a very important place. Two
Varieties are commonly grown in the District (i) Divodni ot
khodma is grown in gardens only i the plant is tall and bushy
Crops.
217
and the fruit red and pungent. The seed is sown from
November to January and usually as a subordinate crop to
onions. (2) Nowrangl or daryahddi, the other variety, is
less pungent and the fruit is yellowish red on ripening. The
seed IS sown in the end of April in a seed bed and transplan-
ted in June or July. It is generally grown as a dry crop but
chillie-growers who have facilities for irrigation irrigate from
November till March.
209. Well-drained black soil is considered best for chillies,
Cultivation.
The land is ploughed and cross-
ploughed and then wakhared in the dry weather. Manure
IS applied at the rate of 30 cartloads an acre and the land
again wakhat'ed. The nuisery beds 7 feet by 7 are piepaied and
manured as for tobacco and the seed is sown in May at the
rate of from two to three lbs. for 20 plots. The beds are
watered daily till germination takes place and every second
day later. The young seedlings are covered with a layer of
cotton stalks to shade them from the scorching rays of the sun.
About the end of June the seedlings are transplanted m rows
about 20 inches apart with the plants 20 inches apait m the
rows. This permits of interculture both ways with the bullock
hoes. Duiing the rams the crop is hoed four or five times,
and weeded by hand as often as necessary. The pods are
ready for picking about the end of September, and the plants
continue to yield for three or four months or even longer if
irrigated. The crop is sometimes attacked by a green fly of the
genus Jassidae, which cause the curling of the leaves. The
cost of cultivating dry-crop chillies is about Rs, 70 per acre,
and the outturn is about 500 lbs. of dry chillies worth Rs. 126 ;
but if irrigated the outturn is increased by approximately 8
maunds and the whole crop is worth Rs. 165 an acre, leaving
the grower with a clear profit of Rs. 55 m the one case and
Rs. 75 in the other.
310. Turmeric {Curctma toitga) is cultivated by the Ghasi
Turmeric Mails in the pdtastM lands at the foot
of the Satpuras it the Morsi taluh
Sendurjatia Is the chief centre. At other places it is irrigated
frctn wells. It is grown on 'Well drained bkck soils it rotation
218
AMRAO'ri DISTRICT. AORICULTljhE.
with ground-nut, sugarcane and sometimes even after cotton and
juari. The land is cultivated and ridged as for other irrigated
crops ; the sets are planted on the ridges 8 inches apart in the
beginning of the rains, 50,000 being required for one acre.
The crop is irrigated at intervals of ten or twelve days during
the dry weather. In January the rhizomes are ready
for harvesting and the shoots are cut off with a sickle. The
plot is then watered and after a week the rhizomes are dug
up, stored m a shady place on a layer of turmeric leaves and
covered with bundles of smi hemp or other stalks available at
the time. Sets which had failed to germinate are collected
separately, the inferior turmeric derived from these is used
for making the red powder (kunku) with which women paint
their foreheads. In March the heap is opened and the
turmeric for seed is separated from that intended for sale,
that chosen for seed being the main stock from which the
side shoots have been removed. In addition to the seed there
are three other marketable products derived from this crop.
The sets of the previous season which are found still clinging
to the roots are sold at a cheap rate to the Atari (makei of
peifumes) who uses them in the manufactuie of his stock m
trade. From the stocks not required for seed an inferior
turmeric known as kup is prepared, while turmeric proper is
made from the rhizomes. These are boiled in earthen pots
if the quantity is small ; but if a large quantity is to be dealt
with, iron pans of the same kind as are used for boiling the
juice of sugarcane are used. The pan is filled with watei to
a depth of six inches, and the rhizomes are then put into it
and heaped up above the brim. After two hours boiling the
ihizomes are taken out and spread on a plastered floor in the
sun to dry. Turmeric is chiefly used as a condiment; it
is also used as a dye. Despite tlie fact that this crop is one
of the most profitable grown, the area under it in this District
has dwindled away to 405 acres. The local demand being in
excess of the supply, tuimeric is now imported from the
Nizam’s dominions, Betul and the Bombay Presidency. The
cost of cultivation per acre including the Government assess-
ment of Rs. 8 for fdtasthal land is approximately Rs. 183, and
the value of the outturn of about 1600 lbs. of toots is Rs. 290,
leaving the grower with a net profit of Rs, 107,
Crops.
21 1. Onions {A Hum cepa) are widely grown in the village
/r^- j ^ garden lands. There are two varieties,
Onions {Kanda). » j j -ru r i. ...
white and red. The former is better
for cooking, the latter for eating. Onions do well in pdndhn,
movandt and iitali soils. They are generally grown in rotation
with other garden crops such as hareld {Momordka chavantia),
meiht {T ngonella faenum Gmcum), ttiht {Chanopoduim vende),
dhama (Cortandntm sativum) , and less seldom after juJri or cotton.
The land is cultivated as for other garden crops and manured
at the rate of 40 cartloads per acre. The field is then
ridged into plots yi feet by 7^, by means of adaimi with a rope
wound round its tines , the sides of the bed are prepared with
a phaurd. In Amraoti and Ellichpur taluks it is the practice
to make narrow beds yi feet by 3I. The seed is sown in
October in well-manured nursery beds 7J feet by 7J. On the
sides of the same beds a few onions are generally planted for
seed production. The seedlings aie irrigated at the end of
every four or five days, and two months later the leaves are
cut off with sickles and sold in the bazar at the rate of four
or five bundles a pice. In January the bulbs are transplanted
in beds about foul inches apart. The crop being ready
for harvesting m May the bulbs aie either pulled out by hand
or dug up by means of a hhurpi On drying the leaves are
cut off and the bulbs stored in thin layers in a dry any
place. Along with the onions some other subsidiary crops are
grown such as hareld or chillies from which a certain yield is
obtained in the same year. The seed bulbs are ready in
February. The tops are nipped off, dried and the seed
cleaned by means of the sup and sold at R. 0-8-0 a pound.
The outturn per acre is about 10,000 lbs. the matket value of
which IS Rs. 175 to which may be added Rs. 12, the value of
the other vegetables grown on the same land. The cost of
cultivation is about Rs. 150, leaving a net profit of Rs. 37 per
acre. The onion is a favourite vegetable in this District. Its
juice mixed with castor oil is valued as a remedy for ticks in
cattle.
212. The sweet potato (Ipoima batatas) is one of the
(.«<»). 'O’™” “ '’“T, r'ts
are remote from forests. Near the
jungle it is hard to save the crop from wild pig* Two varieties
iio AURAOTI OlStRlC-f. AGRldULT'ORti.
are grown, a white and a red. The best crops aie obtained
from well-drained black cotton soil but the lighter soils,
morandt and sliorati, give good outturns. Sweet potatoes
followed by cotton or juan are sometimes manured with san
hemp or til ploughed in as a green manure. It is also grown
after the common garden crops. The soil is ridged as for
onions in beds 7^ feet by 7J with the ridges 18 inches apart and
sets each with four nodes are planted on the sides of theridges,
two rows in each furrow, so that successive rows are only 9
inches apart. The sets are covered with earth and irrigated at
intervals of four or five days at first and at intervals of
twice that length later. The potatoes are ready for harvesting
in February and according to custom some are dug up at
Shivratri as an offering for Siva. From that time till April
or May the Mali continues to lift his potatoes to supply the
local market. The leaves are used as a fodder for bullocks.
The chief insect pest is the potato beetle. The cost of
cultivation is approximately Rs 200 and the value of the
outturn about Rs. 255 per acre, leaving the cultivator with a
net profit of approximately Rs. 55.
213, Pdn cultivation is earned on mainly by the Bari
Betel vine, caste. The important places at which
/rt«-gardens are to be found are
Badnera, Dabhe and Anjangaon Ban in the Amraoti taluk,
Malkhed in the Chandur taluk, Anjangaon Surji in the
Daryapur taluk, Ellichpur, Sirasgaon Kasba, Ladki and
Brahmanwada-Thadi in the Ellichpur taluk. ' The area under
cultivation of this crop in 1907-08 was 662 acres or g per cent,
of the total iriigated area of the District. The maximum area
under cultivation in one field seldom exceeds one acre which
belongs to eight or ten 'different cultivators holding in common.
The best loamy garden soil is selected for the pan garden. The
preliminary cultivation is the same as for other garden crops.
The land is then divided into beds with a water channel for each
line, as the vines have to be irrigated at all seasons except during
the rains. The row of the beds is called a kanang or wavi ;
each contains loo beds 10 feet by 3^ feet so that the area
of a hmang is 350 feet by loj feet. In the beginning of the
rams the seed of sawm [Sesbania aegypti(ica)i is sown in the
CROPS*
331
rows, and in August the betel vine is planted at distances of
1 8 inches apart. The sawan plays the part of a support for
the vine which grows up along it, and at the same time
shades the vine from the sun. As a protection against
strong winds a hedge of pangm trees {Erythnna mdtca) is
grown round the garden ; for still greater protection screens
made of cotton or other stalks are attached to these. The
whole area enclosed is known as a tanda. Plantains are
grown all over the garden at intervals of lo or 12 feet for
pui poses of shade. The betel vine cultivator generally has
two tdndas at the same time so as to enable him to rotate
his vines. He plants the one two years after the other so
that he gets a crop of leaves every year. The cost of
cultivating a /ciii-garden of about | acte is said to amount to
Rs. 575 m the first year, and to about Rs. 260 in succeeding
years. The value of the outturn is about Rs. 208 in the
second year and Rs. 338 each year fiom the 3rd year to the
loth year, if the vines are well manured. The profits from
this small area are said to be sufficient to maintain a Ban
and his family in comfort.
214, Water melons are grown in the beds of the PQrna,
Wardha and other rivers. The hharhftj
Melons (Kharbuj), -*• , * . u \
wadt, melon garden, is generally about
200 feet long and 50 feet wide. The cultivation is carried
on by the Bhoi or fisherman caste. The light sandy
soil of the river bed is cultivated and levelled in January.
Furrows are then made with the phmm at distances of 4 feet
apart. In these seeds are planted and covered with cattle-
dung and ashes. When the plants are about 8 inches high,
they are thinned out, manured a second time and the furrows
levelled. In March, manure is again applied and the plants
are earthed up. The wadi is fenced m April to keep out
jackals and pigs which are very destructive. The cost of
cultivation of a hharbuj wddi of about 50 feet by 100 feet is
Rs. 30-6-0. The value of outturn 1? Rs. 75, leaving a net
profit of Rs. 44-10-0. Despite the fact that this is a most
valuable crop, the area under melons is said to be gradually
decreasing owing to the exorbitant rents charged for the
■wMk and the scarcity of labour.
222
AMRAOTI DISTRICT. AGRICULTURE,
215, Rice (Pryza sativa), mung (Phaseolus mungo), karM
Other cro s {Momordtca chamntia), amhdn (Hibiscus
er crops. cawiabinus), sa«-hemp (Cvotalaria juncea)
sawd (Panicwn pimmiaceum), kodon (Paspalim scrohculatum),
kutkl (Panicim Pstlopodimn), bnnjals (Solanum melongena),
garlic (Alhum sativum), ground-nut (Arachs hypogced), sugarcane
(Sacchanm officimrmit), and other minor crops are grown. Of
these rice, kodon, kutki and other inferior millets are mostly
grown by the Korkus of the Melghat on isolated patches
of the slopes and valleys of that mountainous taluk.
216. The area
Statement of crops.
under each crop for the plain taluks and
the Melghat respectively for the year
1907-08 IS shown in the statement
on the opposite page.
217. Chikalda is the only place in these Piovinces in
Coffee and Tea. which coffee (Coffca arahtca) has been
tried. The area under the crop at
present is about 25 acres, and is to be found mostly as small
plantations in the compounds of the bungalows and on land
belonging to the Order of St. Francis de Sales. The pioneer
in coffee-planting was a certain Mr. Mulheran, who fifty
years ago tried coffee on these hills. The plateau is in
many respects suitable for coffee cultivation. The altitude
13 3664 feet above the sea-level and the soil is red loam
in which respects the Chikalda plateau is very similar to
the best coffee tracts m the Nilgins. The main drawback
IS that the rainfall is usually confined to foui months
m the year. The coffee obtained is considered to be as
good as any grown m India; it requires to be matured
for a year after harvest befoie being used. The seed
IS finst sown in a well shaded nursery bed. The seedlings
are planted out in rows 7 feet apart, with the plants 6 feet
apart in the rows. As the soil is very shallow it is some-
times necessary to remove some of the stones and muram of
the sub-soil so as to giye the roots greater freedom of growth.
One basket of cattle-dung and leaf mould is mixed with the
earth at the roots of each seedling. Good shade is absolutely
necessary. One of the best trees for this purpose is the
silver oak (Gmilka rohnsta) which both shades the coffee-
CROPS.
233
224 AMRAOTI DISfRICr. AGRICULTURE.
bushes from the rays of the sun and at the same time protects
them from strong winds. Hand-weeding is necessary to kill
weeds and to keep the surface loose and friable round the
bushes, so as to prevent the excessive evaporation of soil
moisture. The bushes produce berries after the third year.
In their fifth year they are in full bearing and continue to
yield well for at least thirty years if manured regularly.
The bushes are not allowed to grow to a height of more than
five feet. The yield of berries per tree in a good year is about
two pounds. Most of the coffee produced is sold to officers
stationed in Berar and visitors to Chikalda ; the supply is too
insignificant to create anything like a demand for it on
a commercial scale. Tea {Thea sinensis) too has been tried
but without success, as the conditions are too dry for this
plant.
CHAPTER V.
LOANS, PRICES, WAGES, MANUFACTURES,
TRADE AND COMMUNICATIONS.
Loans,
218, Government loans, tahlvi or tagai, are as elsewhere
„ ^ , advanced to cultivators under two
Government loans. , t , t , , ,
^ctS) 1^116 X^rRnd. lmprov6tn.6xit} And th6
Agriculturists’ Loans Act. The latter was only applied to
Berar in 1891, but the former in one shape or another has
been in force since 1871. Loans under it are chiefly given
tor the sinking of wells, the eradication of scrub and deep
rooted weeds from fields and the making of embankments.
In the thirty years from 1877-1907 a sum of only two
lakhs of rupees was advanced, and of this Rs. 30,000 were
given out in the famine years of 1896-97 and 1897-98 and
almost a lakh in 1899-1900 and 1900-01. In 1908 also, as
the 1907 rams were a partial failure, it was thought well to
stimulate the demand for labour by this means and about
Rs. 83,500 were advanced. Omitting, however, these years
the average yearly amount advanced to cultivators in ordi-
nary times was only Rs. 2631. Loans under the second Act
have also been as a rule trifling. In the famine years above
mentioned some eighty-four thousand rupees were distributed
and in 1908 Rs. 13,375, but apart from these exceptional
cases the average yearly amount is but little over Rs. 1000.
Many reasons have been given for the comparative unpopu-
larity of Government loans, the most common being perhaps
the delays connected with the system. In Berar there is no
record of rights in land and each separate case accordingly
entails a reference to the Registration Department • procedure
must always, therefore, be somewhat more lengthy than in the
Central Provinces, though a recent simplification in other
respects has resulted m an increased demand for the loans.
It has been urged by some officers that the local conditions
are unfavourable to the grant of loans m normal seasons, the
226 AMRAOTI DISTRICT. LOANS, PRICES, WAGES, ETC.
facilities and need for irrigation being small and the rich soil
producing good crops without much trouble or expense. But
this IS contraverted by other officers, who ascribe the small
demand for loans to the delays and trouble of the system of
distribution and to the want of interest taken in the matter
by Government officials. To this may be added a few
factors which elsewhere also operate against the success of
tahm. Government occupies an infinitely stronger position
than the ordinary creditor, and insists upon prompt repay-
ment ; the latter moreover will lend for marriages and the
like ceremonies which make indebtedness a social necessity to
the average cultivator, and he is naturally chary of doing so
when the land is already pledged to a far stranger claimant .
hence the cultivator who may need such a loan is careful not
to do anything which may endanger his chance of getting it.
It seems piobable that, with an improved system of distribu-
tion, Government loans will increase in popularity. In the
Melghat, where cultivation is in a much more backward state,
it IS possible that a promising field may be found when
settlement operations are complete. The Korkus are heavily
indebted and pay most extortionate interest on their scanty
loans . but at present their agriculture is entirely subordinated
to timber cutting. In times of scarcity of course the loan
system is of immense use everywhere in enabling Government
to finance the coming crop.
219. Private moneylendmg takes various forms ; between
Private loans. bankers and men of business accommo-
dation m one form or another as often
necessary and this is given to persons of well-known
financial stability. Such loans are commonly made upon note
of hand only or bill of exchange payable in one case at sight
{danhmtl), in the other at 30 or 61 days from execution ; and a
commission of R. J to Rs. 2 per cent, is charged. The
ordinary rate of exchange on Bombay varies between Jper cent,
discount in the cotton season and J per cent, premium at other
times. To cultivators loans are made on mortgages of land,
and foi these the usual rate is 1 per cent, per mensem where
the security is good and the reputation of the borrower
excellent ; ij per cent is the ordinary rate for loans to
cultivators of substantial standing, and 2 per cent, or even
LOANS.
527
more will be charged m more doubtful cases. These rates
are not really so high as at first sight they seem. The
lenders are often persons engaged in various other trades, who
may require all their capital at very short notice to meet a
sudden call, and mortgages are of all forms of property
the most unrealisable in an emeigency. Thus it is notorious
that in the recent financial crisis which swept from America
throughout the world several of the local sdhukdrs weie
very hard pressed to find the requisite cash, and had to sell
land and mortgage rights at a loss. The great firm of
BansI Lai will have nothing to do with this traffic, and the
danger above described accounts in part tor the high rates
being maintained even in a District where money is compara-
tively plentiful. Subsequent loans on the same security must
pay 2 or even 3 per cent, per mensem, though the latter rate
would only be charged in the most risky transactions. Gram
is sometimes advanced by sulmhiys on a stipulation that it
will be paid back at harvest in a ratio of 5 • 4 {laom) 01 in
unfavourable cases 3 • 2 {wddhi didhi), and m the Melghat the
rates are even higher ; the system however is a vanishing one,
all the larger firms having given it up. Persons who can
neither show well known credit in the money market nor
produce landed security must pawn valuables to tho amount
of their loan and will then receive the money on terms
similar to those in force for mortgages. If they cannot do
this, they will have no choice but to resort to the village
Shylock or the Rohilla who deals in petty loans at high risk
and shows but little compassion either in the rates he charges
or in his method of collecting debts.
220. Mention should be made of a rule of Hindu law
Dam Du at which applies m Berar but not in the
Central Provinces. The doctrine of
Dam Dupat is probably the oldest existing attempt to put a
check upon usury, for it does not owe its origin to the
commentators but is to be found stated at length m the
Institutes of Manu. In brief it declares that the amount of
interest payable at any one time can never exceed the
principal or balance of the principal remaining due. Thus it
is both a check upon usury and a law of limitation since though
It imposes no bounds to the rates which may be charged it
SaS AMRAOTI DISTRICT. LOANS, PRICES, WAGES, ETC.
forces an extortionate creditor to sue promptly and prevents
the accumulation of sleeping claims. It is only enforceable
where both parties to the transaction are Hindus , if a
Muhammadan takes up the interest or liabilities of a Hindu,
the rule applies for just so long as the matter is in Hindu
hands. It has been held in Bombay that the law is not
applicable when there is a liability on the creditor to
keep accounts as when a mortgagee having been placed in
possession is accountable for profits received by him as
against the interest due ; but an opposite ruling has always
prevailed in Berar, where in consequence the law has a much
wider application than on the Bombay side.
221. A branch of the Bank ot Bombay has been
„ , established in Amraoti since 1868 and
Bankers , ,, ...
IS strongly supported. Messrs, Kalh
Brothers to a large extent do their own banking. Of native
firms Raja Seth Gokuldas and Rai Bahadur BansI Lai both
have local agents, but the chief business lies in the hands of
Shriram Sahgrain of Dhamangaon, Shriram RuprUm, Dhanulj
Pokarmal, and Ramratan Ganeshdas, all of whom have
extensive dealings throughout the District. In Ellichpur the
be,st known firm is that of Lalasa Motlsa owned by Nathusa
Pachusa. Moneylending business is transacted also by a few
Brahmans, the most notable being Ramchandra Renko Dole,
222. It IS an interesting question how far the indebtedness
of the cultivator is or is not leading to
Economic condition or , . r .1 , . .
the cultivators. ^ transference of the land to non-
cultivating classes, but it is a question
which in Berar is considerably more difficult to answer than
in the Central Provinces, for the Land Records throw no light
whatever on the matter and Registration records very little.
It is certain that the value of land has gone up by leaps and
bounds every year and is still increasing , and instances are
common of fields changing hands in 1909 at prices about six
times what the same fields fetched twenty years before,
while even greater increase is met with m some localities.
Mortgages, moreover, are commonly framed with a condition
of foreclosure and not of sale, and some of the firms just
mentioned have undoubtedly acquired large but scattered
estates of seveial thousand acres in different parts of the
District But the ryotwari tenure, which makes it impossible
to acquit e a whole village by a single transaction as is done
in proprietary tracts, militates against them ; and as the
management of a large ryotwari estate entails infinite
expenditure of time and trouble, land-grabbing is naturally
confined to much smaller men and does not make great
headway. It is a control of the cotton trade rather than the
actual ownership of land that the moneylenders look to
acquiring , and in the trade neither ryot nor moneylender can
afford to do without the other and neither is completely at the
mercy of the other , they fulfil different and complementary
functions, the one growing the cotton, the other financing,
organizing and exploiting it. Even when a mortgage is
foreclosed it generally pays the creditor better to resell than
to cultivate the land himself.
The prosperous and contented aspect of the villagers, their
sturdy independence of manner and high standard of
intelligence, all arising from their prosperity, are indeed
among the first things always remarked upon by visitors from
other parts of India, and the remark is borne out by number-
less statistics , to take two instances the proportion of
goldsmiths to the general population is large and the
amount spent annually on luxuries as evidenced, e g., in the
yearly Excise Bill, extremely high. Women even of the
lowest castes may commonly be seen wearing heavy
ornaments of silver and gold ; and among the men Coimbatore
scarves and coats of serge and superior cloth are common.
The oldest inhabitant of a Daryapur village put the matter
somewhat quaintly when he said that m days gone by one
coat was enough for a family of four or five members,
that each might wear it as occasion arose but that to-day they
would not be content without four or five coats to each man
of them. The general wealth of the cultivating classes
throughout the plain taluks is undoubtedly very large ; and is
geneially very evenly distributed, prosperity being evidenced
rather by a generally high standard of comfort and of outward
display than by large accumulations of capital in a few
hands. The population is fairly dense in comparison with
the system of cropping, and thrift is not a common virtue in
230 AMRAOTI DISTRICT. LOANS, PRICES, WAGES, ETC.
the ryot’s moral code nor are the facilities for it great. What
IS easily come by is easily spent, and as long as his income
IS sufficient for the rude plenty of the day, he takes but
little thought for the morrow. Whenever, therefore, unusually
high expenditure is necessaiy, recourse is had to the
moneylender.
Prices.
‘ 223. Prior to 1853 when Berar came under British
History administration, the information about
prices is meagre and valueless, though
there is an elaborate calculation on page 254 of the old
Berar Gazetteer which fixes the price of juari (the staple
food gram) in tlie seventeenth century at 160 to 200 lbs. for
the rupee. In the same volume (page 270-271) there is a
table giving the prices of vaiious crops at three different
periods since the Assignment ; this is here reproduced, the
figures representing seers per rupee.
Wheat
Gram
Hice
Linseed
20
10
5'71
11-42
Thus juari and wheat which together covered at settlement
about 48 per cent, of the cropped area had iil the interval
from 1853 to 1870 risen 266 per cent, and 320 per cent, in
price respectively. The next period is that from the original
settlement 1869-1873 to the Revision m 1897-1900. To get
a common basis of comparison for all taluks we may take
the twenty years from 1876 to 1895 and subdivide this into
four quinquennial periodsi The prices of juari and wheat
were as follows : —
PRICES,
231
Quantity sold per lupee in seeis and decimals of a seei
during the period of • —
commonest food grams were selling at about the same price
in 1895 as in 1876. In the next five years the District was
afflicted with two severe famines, those of 1897 and 1900,
in which years the prices of cereals stood as follows : —
Quantity m seers sold per rupee.
Juan.
Wheat.
Gram.
Rice,
Tur.
BSjra,
1897
9*52
6 92
7-81
6 56
G98
7 41
1900 ...
I0'82
8 89
10 7
8 26
7 81
93
Since 1901 the prices have been steady at between 16,31
seers of juari and gaz seers wheat per rupee, except in
years such as 1908 when the crops have been unusually poor.
The present prices of food grains are as follows : —
Juan
... 13 — 14 seers per rupee,
Wheat
... 6 — 7 seers per rupee,
Gram
... 9 — 10 seers per rupee,
Rice
... 5 — 7 seers per rupee,
TQr
. . 6—8 seers per rupee,
Bajra
. 11 — 13 seers per rupee.
A factor which has had much to do with the rise in
price of food grams has been the large increase in cotton
cultivation resulting not merely in a general cheapening of
money (cotton being a commercial crop) but also in a special
dearness of cereals which have thus been ousted from their
proper place in the annual harvest. In 1907 Major Hors*
AURAOtl district, loans, TRICES, WAGES, ETC.
brugh remarked. ‘ The amount of juari sown is at present
‘ quite insuiBcient for food and fodder. Cotton-growing is the
‘fashion of the day and the rotation of crops is much dis-
' regarded. Time and the land itself will teach the cultivators
' a lesson,’ Perhaps the recent decrease in cotton crops may
be taken as showing that the cultivators are already learning
that lesson.
224. Cotton, however, is and is likely to temain the
Prices of cotton characteristic wealth-producing indus-
try of the District ; "and the price obtain-
able for cotton is of paramount importance to every one in the
plains of Berar. There is some discrepancy between the figures
furnished by the Bombay chambei and those resulting from
local enquiries, but it may be assumed that the formei are
more correct. The difference between the price of cotton
m Berar and in Bombay is about Rs, 36 per Bombay Mandi
of 784 lbs. The average Bombay price of cleaned Berar
cotton from 1869 to 1878 was Rs. 230 per hhandl, from
1878-1888 Rs. 203, and from 1888-1898 Rs. 190. The local
prices for the separate taluks gathered at the Revision
settlement from shopkeepers and others are as follows : — ■
Period.
Amraoti.
Chandur.
Morsi.
Ellichpur.
Daryapur
1872 to 1876 ..
175
174
116 1
162
141
1877 to 1886 ..
165
164
130
152
1.50
1887 to 1896 ...
146
145
143 j
149
160
The accuracy of the figures for Morsi and Daryapur is
open to considerable doubt. In the other taluks the fall is
explained in part by the general tenour of the world’s
markets but partly also by the gradual substitution m Berar
of a coarse but prolific type of cotton for a finer but less
productive. The cotton of Dhamangaon market which is
brought largely from the uplands of Yeotmal, where the
longer stapled plant is still grown, finds a ready sale in
Bombay at slightly higher prices than that of Amraoti, and
unscrupulous dealers have sometimes sent cotton from
Amraoti to Bombay via Dhamangaon for the sake of securing
the mark of that place on the bales*
{■RICES.,
^33
The volume on Prices and Wages m India gives the
average annual wholesale prices in rupees per lo mauncis
of cotton. These lo Bengal maunds or about 820 lbs aie
very roughly equivalent to a Bombay kimndl of 784 lbs.
In 1897 the price was only Rs. 145, but it fell steadily till
I goo when it suddenly rose to Rs 187 Again in the two
following years there was a decline, but in 1903 prices rose
by about 20 per cent, and m 1904 they reached their highest
watermark, Rs. 222. In the year 1908-1909 the price of
Amiaoti cotton in Bombay was Rs 240.' In the local
markets the cotton is sold uncleaned (in which state it is
known as hapds ) by a kapds khandl of 560 lbs. Prices for
this in 1908-1909 show Rs. 52-53 for the first picking and
Rs. 35-40 for the last.
225. There is nothing of particular interest in the prices of
Miscellaneous articles less important produce. Ten maunds
of linseed were sold for Rs. 34 — Rs. 38
m 1897-98-99, but rose to Rs. 64 in 1902. Two years later
there was a return to the old level, but the present price
(1909)13 again high ( Rs. 50—52-8). Til has fluctuated
between Rs. 35 and Rs 56 per 10 maunds, standing at present
at about the latter figure ; while g/tt has risen from Rs. 289 in
1897 to Rs. 380-400, the price in Amraoti in 1907-08.
Owing to the Singhast period and the consequent falling off of
demand for this commodity at marriage merry-makings the
price of 1908-1909 IS almost as low as in 1897. Tobacco
which has been subject to considerable fluctuations stands
now at a wholesale price of Rs. 200 per 10 maunds, almost
the highest figure known. Salt has cheapened from 8 seeis
a rupee in 1870 to i6-r8 seers to-day, a very satisfactory fall.
Karbl (juari stalks) at present sells at Rs. 5-6 and grass
for As. 10—12 per 100 bundles shortly after harvest, though
the prices rise very considerably m the hot weather.
Oil, whether til, linseed or Jiardi, fetches As, 8 the seer,
and firewood is priced at an average of R. 1-12 to
Rs. 2 per cartload of roughly 20 Mchd maunds of 28 lbs.
a piece. Of live stock a cow ranges from Rs. 10 to Rs. 40
and a she-bufialo from Rs. 50 to Rs. 125.
>Very much higher prices were reached and maintained for long
periods in the current year 1909'19I0,
454 AI^RAOfl DISTRICT. I>dAN§, PRICES, WAGES, ETd.
Wages.
226. The demand for labour, and especially unskilled
labour, in Berar is large . cotton as a
Agricultural and other .. j 1 r j
unskilled labour crop requires a great deal of care and
attention, and there is a proportionate
influx of casual labourers from other parts of India, chiefly
the north. At the date of the former Berar Gazetteer
payment for agricultural labour was almost always made in
kind, and, as such a payment is entirely independent of
variations in the price of money and is moreover largely based
upon custom, it is not surprising to find that it remains
almost unchanged at the present day.
‘ The cotton-picker is not paid in cash , the rate is from
one-twentieth to one-tenth, according to the market , the
‘ twentieth is the old rale. If the first picking is a twentieth
‘ share, the second should be a tenth, the third is sometimes
' half, because one person can collect but a small quantity m
‘ a day at the late gathering. The Kunbis have a supersti-
‘ tious predilection m favour of getting their cotton picked by
‘women. As each person has completed her or his day’s
‘picking, she or he carries the load to the appointed place,
‘ where the owner is in waiting for them ; as each bundle is
‘ received it is ranged, with the picker seated near, the Dhers
‘and other outcastes apart from the others. The ownei
‘commences by asking for one of the loads, which is
‘ thrown before him , he divides it into the stipulated number
‘ of shares, and tells the picker to choose one, who does
so, and takes possession of it.
‘ In cutting juari a labourer’s wage is one pula or bundle
‘(sheaf) with the ears, to be chosen by himself. For
‘ cutting ears off the stalks two ordinary baskets for a man,
‘ and one for a woman, is the wage ; each basket contains
‘ four seers (eight lbs.) of gram, value four annas. A wheat-
‘ cutter’s wage is two sheafs, yielding about four lbs., valued
‘ three annas,
‘ A r/iff/id-picker (the plants are pulled up) gets, if a man,
WAGEd. 235
‘ two kavaps (heaps) and a woman one ; a kavap contains six
‘ lbs., worth perhaps four annas.’
It may be added that it is doubtful whether the
preference for women cotton-pickers to-day is so much a
superstition, as an economic hankering for cheap labour. In
1870 the rate of payment in hard cash for unskilled labour
(casual) was 4 annas per diem and this remained without
much fluctuation till 1900- 1901. Since then it has risen till
It stands to-day at about 8 annas , and the high prices
prevailing for agricultural produce lately have inclined
cultivators towards cash payment, a system which has its
advantages for the payee also. In cotton cultivation men are
paid 4 annas a day for sowing or weeding and women 2 annas.
The cotton is picked from 3 to 5 times almost invariably by
women. At the first picking the wage is 2 annas per diem,
at the second and 3rd it is the money equivalent of a wage
in kind 4 — 4^ annas for every maund of 15 seers (30 lbs.)
picked, this being a fan day’s work. After this the wages fall
and at the 4th and 5th pickings only 2 annas per diem are
earned. Juan is sown by men who are paid from 4 to 6
annas a day. Cutting and stocking as well as threshing
are done by contract by men on a basis of 2 to 2% hiros
(i huvo= 16 seers) for every Uffan (4 acres) reaped or some-
times 24 seers for every hhandi of 320 seers harvested.
The ears are separated from the stalks by women who get a
basketful of ears (value about 4J annas) per day. Similar
arrangements prevail with regard to other crops. Farm-
servants regularly employed got from five to eight rupees a
month in the plains, seven being perhaps the commonest rate ;
and in the Melghat from Rs, 2J to Rs. 5 per month. In
each case presents of clothing from their masters at Dasahra
and Holi are the equivalent of a few rupees more.
The wages for unskilled labour in other professions are
naturally regulated by those in agriculture. An ordinary
cooly i3 paid 3 annas a day, a woman or a boy 3 annas !
m the rams these rates are increased to 6 or 7 annas for men
and 4 annas for women, that for children remaining the same.
Uamnuls for heavy work come frequently from Khandesh ;
they draw d to 8 ailhas at any time of yeah Watermen,
236 AMRAO*!! district. LOANS, PRICES, WAGES, Exd.
chaukiclars and similar unskilled servants are paid 5 to 8
rupees a month/
227. The wages of skilled labour is of course a more
Skilled labour. complicated question • the higher kinds
of agricultuial labour may draw Rs 10
to Rs. 12 per mensem, and a syce Rs. 9 or 10 per mensem
it is difficult, however, to speak of these as skilled labour. A
mason gets Rs. 20 to Rs 22, and a village carpenter or black-
smith Rs. 22 to Rs. 30. It IS probably this last class of labour
which IS referred to tn the old Berar Gazetteer (page 272)
as receiving from 12 annas to i rupee per diem. Allowing
therefore for the difference between casual and fixed labour
the rate would appear to have remained almost the same.
This IS probably true as regards such village servants for
there has been no great variation m the demand or supply
during forty years and some of the Uiluteddys, it should be
remarked, continue to draw their customary haks at harvest
though they have no legal claim to do so. In other branches,
however, there has been a great rise in wages . men with a
turn for mechanics command wages in the gins and factories
which may commence at Rs. 28 per mensem as blacksmith
and include promotion even up to Rs. 50 or higher as fitter
or overseer. Good Marathi-speaking clerks need never be
without posts on Rs. 15 — 25 per mensem and it is very hard
to get a man with a knowledge of English as well on anything
less than the latter figuie even when the prospects and ultimate
pension of Government service are included. Even when all
allowances have been made for the declining value of money
this is clearly a sign of the increasing prosperity of the
District.
Manufactures.
228. Though rather a process of trade than a manufacture,
the ginning and pressing of cotton
claims the first rank in the industries
of the District. At the end of 1907
* The above flguies were supplied by the Executive Engineer and
represent average rates. During the cotton season there is very
great shortage of labour coolies and Hantmals can then command
Ironi As. 8 to Re and women easily obtain from 4 to 6 annas daily
for work in the factories. Children are not often employed dnd their
rates of wages remajp constant.
MANUFACTURES,
237
there were in existence 88 factories carrying on this business,
60 being concerned with ginning and 28 with pressing ;
Amraoti alone contained fifteen of the former and thirteen
of the latter. The oldest is that of Messrs. Volkarts, who
started pressing in 1870. No estimate can be foimed of the
collective capital of these concerns, though it is stated that
62 of which figures are obtainable account for some 47 lakhs ;
and as it is calculated that a single gin requires a little over
Rs. 1200 of capital and a press Rs. 75,000 it may safely be
said that the total investment is well ovei half a crore of
lupees. In the factories which come within the scope of the
Factories Act (30 only at the present day) slightly over one
thousand operatives were employed m 1894 : the numbers
increased steadily till 1904 in which year they stood at 6000 :
after this the returns show a considerable falling off, due
perhaps to a different interpretation being judicially placed on
a word in the Act under which they are made, by which
some factories have been exempted from making them. The
area under cotton ciop has also however slightly decreased
since the same year. The monthly wages earned by unskilled
labourers are about 8 rupees per mensem.
229. Besides the cotton gins and presses the District has
» X • only four factories, the oil presses of the
Other factories. , , J , ,,
New Mofussil Company and Messrs.
Ramji Kanav and Company both at Amraoti, the Berar
Match Company at Ellichpur, and the Berar Manufacturing
Company Limited at Badnera, in which the principal
shareholders are Kasturchand Daga and Sons. Of these the
New Mofussil Company’s Oil Mill was opened in 1872, the
capital being Rs. 6,25,000, and Messis. Ramji Kanav's
in 1894, the capital being Rs. 88,000. The oil most
commonly produced is that extracted from linseed, and oil
cakes are also made. Recent statistics are not available, but
in 1899-1900 the total outturn of the Mills was 2,11,635
gallons of oil and 1771 tons of oil cakes. The Match
Factory was started at Ellichpur in 1906. This extremely
plucky enterprise has had many difficulties to contend with,
being far removed from any but a purely local market, and
hampered by the amount of wasteage entailed by the coarse
quality of wood locally obtainable for the purpose, It has
238 AMRAOTI DISTRICT. LOANS, PRICES, WAGES,
temporarily ceased working though before doing so it had
managed to produce not merely the ordinary sulphur, but very
creditable safety matches. The machinery is all of the latest
Euiopean pattern and the greatest care is taken to prevent
any danger to the operatives from unhealthy fumes. If the
pioject of a light railway to Elhchpur is ever fulfilled, the
Match Factory may yet become a highly prosperous enterprise.
But by fai the most important manufactuie of the District
IS that of cotton yam and cloth as represented on modern
lines by the Mills at Badnera. These were opened in 1885
on an initial capital of five and a half lakhs ; and at the
present day contain 248 looms worked by an engine of 22
N. H. P. and 16,336 spindles by an engine of 124 N. H P.
Yarn from cone 6| to cone 32 is manufactured and all kinds
of woven goods, both for Indian and Euiopean use, including
dhotis, pagns, dasotls, napkins, handkerchiefs, and table cloths.
The finish on the articles produced is not very high, but they
are extremely durable and will stand any amount of rough
wear The Mills have steadily increased m prosperity since
their first foundation and now dispose of their goods through-
out the Central Provinces and Berar and at many stations
in more distant Provinces. The latest annual outturn was
of 1,286,329 lbs. yarn and 1,054,854 cotton cloth, valued at
Rs. 5,42,842 and Rs. 6,21,048 respectively.
230. The most important cottage industries are the same
Cottage industues. f ®
the cleaning of cotton, the making of
seed oils of various kinds, and weaving. The following table
shows the figures m the various plain taluks at the Revision
Settlemen t:—
W.1,. Kr
Amraoti 76 193 72 1719
Elhchpur 162 1030 43 4123
Daryapur ... .. 113 630 33 1311
Chandur 48 192 59 8437
Morsi 1S9 378 81 3886
The oil presses turn out oil for the local market only,
cotton seed, til, and Imseed being used. The number of
hand gms is at first sight large, but it is explained that
MAKUFACTORES,
239
cotton seed for sowing must be separated from the lint by
hand gins, as it is damaged in the rougher usage to which the
steam gins subject it.'
231. Hand weaving is done in cotton, silk and wool and
Hand Weaving. ^ combined thread of cotton and silk,
The chief centres of weaving are
Ellichpur city, Anjangaon Surji in the Daiyapur taluk
and Kholapur near Amraoti, the silk and cotton weaving
being mostly done by Sabs and Koshtls, though Khatrls,
Patwis, Halbis and Gadhewals are among the castes
employed , and the rougher cotton fabrics as well as those
in wool are produced by Dhangars and Mahars, The
largest centre of the trade is Ellichpur, but the silk work,
which is declining, is confined to Kholapui and Anjangaon,
Pure silk is rarely woven except to order, when a sdn costs
from Rs. 20 to Rs. 50 and a paikd or informal turban only
a slightly smaller sum. The material is not grown locally
but imported, and of Rs. 25 paid for a patkd about Rs. 23
represents the price of the silk. The pagrl or full dress
turban is not woven at Kholapur. Of the mixed cotton and
silk goods two kinds are distinguished, one in which the silk
is puie and one in which it is an imitation, imported, it is
said, from Geimany. The idea may seem incongruous but
the lesults are not unpleasmg, the dull yellows and greens
affected in this particular material being more soothing to the
eye than the pure silks , the colours, however, are not
considered to last so well. As to prices, sdrts can be had
from Rs. 5 to Rs. 10 and pathds at about Rs. 7. The
pure cotton fabrics, chiefly sans of conventional pattern, dhoth
and other articles of rustic wear are sold locally, and are in
no way remarkable. The texture is plain though very soft,
and occasionally the borders are ornamented with embroidery
(in the Nagpui style) in which case a conventional flower
said to be that of the nil or giganhc swallow-wort is a
favourite subject for presentation.
The weaving industry and the allied craft of dyeing,
particularly in dl for which Ellichpur was once famous, are
‘ This IS merely a superstition, but it is dying hard ; machine ginned
seed IS now frequently sown, but in rather larger quantities per acr?
than the hand gmned. It is considerably cheaper,
240 AMRAOTI DISTRICT. LOANS, TRICES, WAGES, ETC.
both in a very precarious condition. Tastes have changed
and the market has ebbed away from the poor Koshtl. The
higher castes will no longer wear the many coloured raiment
which he loves to produce and low caste folk can get
their clothing cheaper elsewhere. His slow and old fashioned
hand loom is at a great disadvantage in the competition with
steam power, and his own position in the world so much
reduced that his earnings for all his fine craftsmanship are
less than those of the merest unskilled field labourer,
The least approach of scarcity or famine destroys his
scanty livelihood at once, and Government has to step in
and buy his goods, selling them again when better times
return. Unless some improvement of a more permanent
nature can be effected either m the style of handloom used or
in suiting the pattern of goods produced to the demand of the
richer classes, tins once flourishing industry is bound to
disappear The coarsest forms of weaving, however, still
supply a local need. Excellent small carpets produced at
Ellichpur are sold all over the District, and indhaos, a coarse
carpet-like material used chiefly for packing ungmned cotton,
are turned out by Mahars at Moisi and various other places.
Woollen blankets of a very rough description are woven by
the Mahars at Kholapur and elsewhere the ordinary size
(about 3 feet by 7I feet) selling for R. 1-4 in the cold season
and R, 1-8 in the rams Even the Mahars who produce
these goods, though not so badly off as the more highly skilled
Sail and Koshtl, are still in poor circumstances, their wages
being only very slightly higher than what they might earn as
village servants.
232. Most of the brass and copper vessels used locally
Metalworking. imported, though good lotas
and very musical bullock bells are
made in Araraoti, and at Karasgaon, m the Ellichpur taluk;
excellent gongs are also produced. There is a small iron
industry but all the materials are imported and the results are
in no way notable. Sonars number 9589, or nearly i per cent,
of the population — ^a figure which, though not so high as that
of Nagpur, still bears testimony to the general prosperity of
the District ; even the poorest women most frequently have
some gold ornament about their persons as well as very heavy
WEIGHTS
MEASURES.
anklets and armlets of silver. Until recently the Bank
of Bombay imported annually large quantities of gold
bullion for sale in the District. The goods are generally of
little artistic value, being made eithei by hammering or hand
moulding, though if a special oidei be received more
ambitious work, including engraving and inlaying, will be
undertaken.
233. There is no minor industry of much importance; glass
Other industries. bangles of coarse appearance
are made at Brahmanwada Thadi and
at one or two other places. The most beautiful stone tracery
was at one time produced in Ellichpur, and the Nawabs’
palaces and tombs at that place, the Deshmukh’s house at
Daryapur and vaiious buildings not only m Amraoli but
hidden away in villages throughout the District, give evidence
of a high standard of wood-carving having once CMStecl.
It is said that there are still artificers m Ellichpur who can
produce woodwork every whit as good as that of thoir
predecessors if given an order to do so , and one occasionally,
as in the new buildings of the Naubatlchana attached to Amba
Devi’s temple in Amraoti, comes across modern carving
which is not unpleasing. The wood most commonly used
to-day however is not the sMsham, and this fact in itself
speaks to the decline of the industry for it means the abandon-
ment of the most durable but also the most difficult
material : and with the decline m demand the supply is also
bound to go on deteriorating.
Weights and Measures.
234. The fixed basis upon which the shifting chaos of
weights and measures in Berar rests is
the tola, an almost unvarying and easily
ascertainable weight. It is the eqmvalent of one Government
rupee or 180 giains troy weight. The scale of weights is .—
80 tolas — I seer
2-1 seers == i dhadd
40 seers == i maund {man)
20 maunds = i hliandi
Of these the seer alone is unvarying. Sale by weight
is only the custom for sugar, cotton, gh%, flour, tobacco,
turmeric and a few similar groceries, and even in these the
342 AMRAOTI DISTRICT. LOANS, PRICES, WAGES, ETC.
variations of weights are almost numberless. Thus a common
term is pasyi which signifies loo tolas of groceries or
120 tolas of raw sugar or 115 tolas of tobacco. If applied to
cotton it may mean anything from 150 to 180 tolas, or in
Daryapur 135 tolas. Similarly the dhadd has variations from
200 tolas to 360 tolas according to the article purchased and
the maund of 40 seers is rivalled throughout the District by a
maund of 10 seeis which becomes m Amraoti taluk the
commoner of the two. Goldsmiths subdivide the tola into 12
mdshds, each being the equivalent of 4 wdls or 8 gmjds, the
last named being the seed of Abrits precatorius. In the
cotton industry hapas or raw cotton and ginned cotton are
dealt with according to the following scales. • —
Kapds . 38.87 tolas = i fl). avoirdupois.
7 lbs. = I quarter
4 quarters = i maund
20 maunds = i hhandl (local)
Cotton : 38.87 tolas = i lb. avoirdupois.
28 lbs. = I maund
10 maunds = i bojhd
But cotton pressed and ready for export is dealt with by
the Bombay hhandl of 784 lbs., which is taken to be roughly
the equivalent of 10 Bengal maunds slightly exceeding 82 lbs.
each.
233. The seer however, though constant as a symbol of
Measures weight, is much more commonly the
term for a measure of capacity. In
1862 the officiating Commissioner, Captain Cadell, issued
orders that the seer measure should contain 100 tolas by
weight of watei, these 100 tolas being taken as approximately
the equivalent of 80 tolas of the following most common
kinds of gram mixed in equal proportions ; juari,'gram, lakh,
rice, masur, urad and mung. For milk and ght separate
measures were prescribed, each being based on the 80 tolas
weight of the article in question. The scale of measurement
is ;
16 chittacks = i seer
2 seers — i pdili
8 pailis == I huro or maund
20 maqnds i hhmdl
WEIGHTS AND MEASURES,
243
though in this scale there is the inevitable confusion, a paili
being sometimes 4 seers, and numberless other variations
being introduced by local fancy. Up to 1906 in the price
current returns to the Government of India the measured
seer was quoted, but since that date conversions have been
made to the seer by weight in common use elsewhere accord-
ing to the following table ; —
■ii
S
<
1
0
1
BUichpur.
Daryapur.
•s’
s
Tolas,
Tolas.
Tolas.
Tolas.
Tolas.
Tolas.
Wheat
84
84
87J
84
85
83
Rice ... ...
88
85
90 1
87
88
85
Juari ... •
8)
76
80 1
7S
78
78
Gram ...
82
78
81
80
81
80
Til
...
66 1
68
88
236. The English scales are in use for measures both of
, ,.1. length and of surface : but a few
Measures of length. ° ,
native terms also survive. The depth
of a well or a tank is measured by purush (a man), a length of
about one fathom ; cloth is sold by the hath of 18 inches,
called also a gas ; this is subdivided into 8 girhas and two gas
make a yard or war. For long distances the commonest
figure IS a has of two miles. For survey purposes the
English acre is divided into 40 gunthds, each of which is a
square chain of 33 feet. The chain is further subdivided
into 16 annas. In old papers, a bigha of 25 gunthds will be
found referred to ; and m daily speech the Kunbi measures
land by a tiffan of 4 acres.
237. In this District the Saka era and calendar are
, generally used. This era commenced
The Calendar. r „ : ^ ,
in 78 A.D. and is believed to have
been founded by a Scythian King, Salivahan, of the Yueh-Chi
tribe, who reigned in Kathiawar. The year 1909 is 1830 — 31
of the Saka era and 1965 — 6$ of the Vikrama calendar, The
244 AMRAOTI DISTRICT. LOANS, PRICES, WAGES, ETC.
Saka calendar differs from the Vikrama in common use in
the Central Provinces and very often used by the Marwans in
this District, m the fact that each month begins a fort-
night later. Thus Chaitra, the first day of which month
begins the new year, corresponds to the second half of the
Vikrama Chait and the first half of Vaishakh. The Saka months
begin with the new moon and the Vikrama months with the
full moon. The first of Chaitra may fall as early as the middle
of March, but more commonly comes m the last week of
March or the first week of April. Consequently Chaitra
may be taken roughly as corresponding to April.
The names of the Saka months are practically the
same as those of the Vikrama months, but they retain the
correct Sanskrit form, whereas the Vikrama names are Hindi
corruptions. But the Vikrama month Kunwar is called
Ashvin in the Saka calendar and the month Aghan is called
Margashir. Both eras are luni-solar and the year consists of
about 355 days, but is made to correspond very nearly with
the Gregorian year by the interposition of triennial inter-
calary months. The FaslI era observed in Berar is that of
the Deccan which is ahead of the Hindustani Fasli by two
years. It begins about the 5th of June every year and
corresponds roughly with the Berar agricultural year
commencing on the first of April. The Fasli year 1319
commenced from the 7th of June 1909.
Fairs and Markets,
238. Not counting the insignificant tombs of ascetics
scattered up and down the country at
almost every one of which on some
particular day in the year a few score of holiday makers
assemble, there are twenty-two annual or half yearly fairs in
the District. These are MSrki, Ganoja and Rinmochan
in the Amraoti taluk; Kaundanyapur, Bhiltek, and Sawanga
Vithobacha in the Chandur taluk ; Wadner Gangai, Yeoda,
Murha and Uprai in the Daryapur taluk ; Ner Pinglai,
Akhatwada, Ridhpur, Dabheri and SalbardT in the Morsi taluk:
Dhanora, Jiwanpura (in Ellichpur city), Ellichpur city (Dula
Rahman), Deurwada, and Bairam in Ellichpur taluk, and
tAlftS AND yARKjit^.
H5
Diwa m Melghat. Most of these, howe\er, are completely
insignificant , one oi two, such as Uprai, Ridhpui and the
annual Hi's or saint’s day of “Dula Rahman” at Ellichpur, being
notable not so much on account of the gathering as of the
peculiai sanctity attaching to the shrine venerated. Four,
however, those of Salbardi, Kaundmyapur, Bhiltek and
Bairamghat, have something moie than a local celebrity. All
these places are situated close to the Central Provinces
border, and tradeis and villagers flock together to attend them
not only from all over Berar but from the neighbouring
Districts of Betul, Wardha and Nagpur as well. The
attendance at the first named is estimated at about twenty-
five thousand and at each of the others at fifty thousand,
probably not a very large estimate. Marki also m the
Amraoti taluk, though not much more than a local merry-
making, has an attendance of probably ten to fifteen thousand.
Full particulars of each of the fairs will be found m the
Gazetteer Appendix and there is no need to repeat them
here. That of Bhiltek lasts for no less than two and a half
months and at all of them a little religion is made the excuse
for much trading and a pleasant holiday. With the increasing
facility of communication, however, and the consequent
spread of retail shops, the talcing of an annual holiday or the
purchase of such necessities as brass pots, clothing, village
carts, etc., has become a less formidable affair than before, and
the fairs as a whole are undoubtedly on the decline. One in
particular, Wirul in Chandur taluk, which not very many
years ago lasted for some three weeks every year and
attracted many thousands of people, has now dwindled to an
affair of a single day, so insignificant that it is, not thought
worthy of a place m the list Even figures collected so
recently as the Revision Settlement are no longer completely
trustworthy, though the four great fairs already mentioned
still retain their importance.
339. The weekly markets however are numerous and
Markets ’ At the Revision Settlement
there were a hundred and fifty m the
plains taluks alone. This with ten in the Melghat and a
dozen or so which have come into existence eince gives
an average of one market to every eleven villages, or every
24^ AMRAOTI DISTRICT. LOANS, PRICES, WAGES, ETCf.
nine villages if the Melghat be omitted from the count.
Of these by far the most important is still Chandur Bazar,
though local residents tell one that it has lost something
of its old preeminence, having remained almost stationary for
the last forty years or even declined in spite of the
enormous increase in wealth during that time. The
sales are estimated at over half a lakh every week^ of
which some Rs. 35,000 is accounted for by grain and
groceries. Chandur also, though not an established cotton
market, sees transactions in cotton during the season to
a weekly value of about seven thousand rupees , about five
thousand of the total is accounted for by livestock. Next
to Chandur Bazar in importance comes Ellichpur (Paratwada),
the great wood mart for this part of Berar, with weekly
sales aggregating over Rs. 10,000 in value, of which about six
thousand is represented by timber and bamboos. Vegetables
from Khamla and Chikalda are also an important item. The
Amraoti Sunday market (there is one also on Wednesday)
and that at Badnera rank next in importance, having an
estimated turn-over of about nine and eight thousand
respectively. Others in approximate order of importance are
Sendurjana Buzurg, Rajura, Anjangaon Surji, Morsi, Mangrul
Dastgir, Sendurjana (Malkapur), Hiwarkhed, Khel Tapniall
in Ellichpur city, Wanosa (Daryapur), Dattapur, Ner
Pinglai. The ten in the Melghat are of merely local
importance and the same remark is true of the remainder
of those in the plains. Most of the more important markets,
it will be noticed, he close to the hills and they fulfil among
other useful functions that of exchanging the products of the
jungles and, of the fertile plateau of Khamla and Multai
against those of Berar. At eveiy village, where a bazar
IS held certain land is set apart for the purpose, and in three
markets of the municipal towns and sixty-nine of the markets
in the District Board area the traffic is regulated and cesses
and stall fees collected according to the bazar rules. In both
cases the right to collect the dues is put up to auction
annually, market by market, and the proceeds of the auction
credited to District Board or Municipal funds as the case may
* The Berar Oazetteer 1870 gives the figure as one lakh,
TRADE.
247
be. In 1908 the sum derived from these auctions was Rs. 12,000
in municipal limits and Rs 52,970 outside. In leturn for
this the local bodies undertake the upkeep of the bazars
concerned, laying down chahutras for merchants and their
goods, planting trees and arranging water-supply. The bazars
are controlled by patels and if the latter collect bazar cess
they are paid 10 per cent, on the collections.
240. In addition to the above the District has six
Cotton markets solely for cotton, namely
Amraoti, Ellichpur, Morsi, Wanosa
(DarySpur), Chandur Railway and Dattapur. These are
managed in each case by a small committee appointed by the
Commissioner. The largest is Amraoti where the sales are
estimated at 72 lakhs of rupees per year, Dhamangaon
which receives the Yeotmal trade coming next with 24
lakhs per year. The smallest is Wanosa (Daryapur) with a
yearly average of 4 lakhs of rupees. At the end of the
cotton season the balance m hand, if any, is credited to the
District or Municipal fund to which the cotton market is
subordinate. In 1907-08 the total receipts were Rs. 131809
and the total expenditure Rs. 13,675.
Trade.
241. ‘Very few people outside the province,’ says the
Trade in former years. Census Report for 1891, ‘know where
Beransorwhatitis. . . Its only claim
‘ to fame lies in the cotton market where the name of Oomras
‘ (or Oomrawuttees) refers in uncouth and archaic form to the
‘ chief product and the chief mart of the Province.’
The cotton trade is by far the most important item of Berar
commerce as it is of Berar agriculture forming about half the
annual crop to the detriment of the harvest in food grains
and more than half the total foreign trade. Though flourish-
ing to-day it laboured less than a century ago under almost
every disadvantage and one can only wonder that it was found
worth while to grow cotton at all in Berar. The miserable
and depressed condition of the cultivator, his indebtedness
and his uncertainty of tenure were drawbacks which operated
alike against all forms of cultivation : but cotton was
additionally handicapped by the distance of the market, the
low prices then prevailitig, and the hundred dangers and
248 AMRAOTI DISTRICT. LOANS, PRICES, WAGEIS, ETC.
uncertainties of primitive transpoit through disturbed country.
In the season of 1825-26 Messrs. Vilcaji and Pestonji,
merchants of Bombay and Hyderabad (the great revenue
farmers), made what is said to have been the first exportation
of Berar cotton direct to Bombay. The figures m these days
sound trivial for it was only 120,000 lbs. weight valued
at Rs. 25,000 but 500 bullocks were required to carry it. The
same enterprising firm opened the first Cotton Press m 1836 .
but matters continued for a long while without much improve-
ment, so that General Balfour, C. B., writing about 1847 says •
‘ Formerly the gieater part of the cotton of Berar was
* taken 500 miles on bullocks to Mir^apur on the Ganges and
‘thence conveyed in boats 450 miles to Calcutta. Now the
‘ greater part goes to Bombay, still wholly on pack oxen, the
‘ distance varying from 126 to 450 miles according as the cotton
* is purchased at one market or another. The hire of a bullock
‘ for the journey ranges from about Rs 5 to Rs. 16, the chief
‘ cause of variation being the time of year, A load is about
* 250 lbs. But this IS not by any means the whole cost
‘ of conveyance, the indirect expenses are much greater. The
‘ cotton IS eaten by the bullocks, stolen by the drivers,
‘ Lorn off by the jungles through which the road passes
‘ and damaged by the dust and the weather as well as
‘ by having to be loaded and unloaded every day often m wet
‘ and mud.’ If the difficulties of other districts were the
•same, it is little wonder that “ Surats,” or Indian cotton, was
a byeword in Lancashire for everything vile. Better days
were however dawning . the suppression of the Peshwa and the
pacification of the inteivening country by the British had
already brought Berar nearer to Bombay. The American
Civil War and the Lancashire cotton famine have relieved
the cultivator of his ancestial indebtedness, tie has security
of tenure and the arrangement by which land revenue is
paid after, not before, harvest has removed at least one
of the many temptations to resort to the moneylender. The
railway has given him speedy transit, an improvement which
coincided with the rise in prices and was so much appreciated
that the first rush of cotton to the newly opened stations com-
pletely paralysed traffic. Finally the establishment of
gins and presses throughout the province has enabled
TRADE.
49
the cotton to be despatched in a compact and portable
form instead of the loose dohras or sacks formerly
m vogue, and the opening of six cotton markets in this
District has brought the merchant more near to the
producer and has limited the functions of the middleman.
242. All the railway stations in the District are to some
Rail-borne trade. ““^res of trade, but by far
the most important are Dhamangaon
(Dattapur), Chandur, Badnera and Amraoti, statistics of the
exports and imports of which are given in the two
tables next following , these statistics do not, of course,
represent accurately the total foreign commerce of the
District, for they exclude the Daryapur taluk which is
served by Murtizapm station m Akola District, as well as the
six minor stations, and they include the Yeotmal traffic
which reaches the line at Dhamangaon. Balancing inclusions
and omissions, however, roughly against one another, the
statistics give a fair general idea of the District trade.
The tables call for but little comment. Cotton is, as has
already been remarked, overwhelmingly the most important
export, accounting m one form or another, for three-quarters
of the total value. Cotton (raw) it should be explained
includes ginned and pressed cotton, for without these processes
the mateiial is too bulky for export. The export of manu-
factured cotton is practically confined to the Mills at Badnera,
the work of local Koshtls and other weavers seldom spreading
much beyond their own neighbourhood ; and as might be
expected the import of manufactured cotton is also extremely
large. It is somewhat startling to find fodder included among
the exports, for the grassland of the plains is certainly not in
excess of local requirements : the export, however, is probably
mostly kavbl or juan stalks. The list of imports is some-
what longer than of exports, but of a simple nature, chiefly
articles of food and clothing. The small space occupied by
coal in the list is probably due to the local ginning and
pressing factories using bUhd and 'other local wood fuel m
their furnaces. Liquor furnishes the largest item of import,
and may be expected to show even larger totals in future now
that the Ellichpur distillery is abolished. The average
annual expenditure per head of the male population jndged by
A^iRAO‘n DISTRICT. LOANS, PRICES, WAGES, Etd.
1907
•anjBA
Rs.
2.20,42
11,30
3 73
2,61
1,38
4,95
1,04
22
14,08
1
Mds.
1,206
27
299
102
9
53
17
20
6
201
1,940
1906.
•cniBA
Rs.
2,39,17
10,98
5 31
2 03
31
3,76
5,63
47
16
29,57
5
S
Mds
425
95
23
165
20
10
5
621
2,653
I
•anjBA
Rs.
2,77,85
1218
7,43
1,53
17
2,33
3,90
1,36
14
16,37
3,23,26
•AjUuenS
Mds.
1,599
30
594
77
H
124
14
4
243
2,731
1
•snjBA
Rs.
2,40,86
10,86
4,46
92
16
39
3,24
95
8
11,68
8
•AjuuBiiQ
Mds.
1,107
26
356
53
14
21
12
28
2
157
1
•3n|BA
H.,
2,12,67
12,02
5,37
58
5
13
252
59
8
9,25
2,43,26
•/C?j;tiBn5
Mds
1,222
30
430
29
4
8
14
14
2
116
1
1902.
'3"I»A
Rs.
1,76,42
12,09
7,13
10
7,43
2,10
11,88
4
10,45
2,28,27
■^l^uBnQ
Mds.
1,138
31
238
22
6
331
14
484
1
136
1
Articles,
Cotton, raw ...
Cotton, manufactured
Cotton-seed ...
Oil cake ... ... ...
Hay,_ straw and grass
Hides and skins
Other oilseeds m ».
All other arbcles ^
Total Exports ... |
Total Imports^ ... 2,555 1,5851 2,534 1,56,16 2,763 1,90,10 2,687 2 08,37
^5^ AkfRAOfl DiSjfRICT. LOAN^, PfelCfiS, WAGES, ETd.
these figures was Rs. 2-5-4 1902, the year after the famines
but rose to Rs. 9-1-8 in 1906. The figures are significant, even
when we allow for the intemperate habits of primitive tribes
such as the Korkus, of the amount which the population
manage yearly to spend on luxuries.
243. The export trade m cotton from Amraoti could not
Rail vay rates flourishing business that it is,
were it not for the specially favourable
freightage rates granted by the Great Indian Peninsula
Railway which enable Amraoti cotton to compete favourably
m the Bombay markets with cotton from stations nearer to
that capital. This is done in order to prevent the cotton
going to Calcutta via the Bengal-Nagpur Railway, The
following table gives the comparison so far as the Berars
are concerned : —
.Buldana
District
Allots
District
Amraoti
District,
Name of Station,
Rate per
raaund of
4U seers.
i Distance from
I Bombay in
miles.
MalliSpur
I Shegaon
Khamgaon
A kola
' Murtizapuf
Amraoti
Cliandur
Ohi'imangaon
' 3 2*
The puce of Berar cotton in Bombay is uniform, variations
being slight and due only to quality. Dhamangaon cotton for
instance is generally considered better than that of Amraoti.
Were it not for the favouralale rales given for the more
distant stations, the Chandur cultivator could scarcely
compete with his rivals of Khamgaon. At present the
railway rates are not merely not against but actually operate
in ins favour.
344. Scattered over the District in the various towns and
larger villages are nearly a, hundred
lasses^engagcd steam factories for the ginning and
pressing of cotton, and a scrutiny of
the owners’ names proves that the trade is not by any*
TRADE,
253
means entirely in the hands of a single class, True there are
many Marwans but Muhammadans, Parsis, Banias, Bhatias,
and Brahmans, as well as the richer members of the local
cultivating castes also take a share. All or almost all of these
will be found to combine moneylendmg with the trade in
cotton and it looks as if the two were very closely connected.
The cultivator is always ready to talce a loan for celebrating
a marriage or some similar festivity, and once he has done so,
cotton IS the crop which leaves him the laigest margin of
profit after paying interest to his cieditors. To the money-
lender a double profit accrues; first from the interest on
his loans, secondly from the increasing quantity of cotton
brought to his gins. The system of loans for seed is also a
popular one and from the creditoi’s point of view has all the
advantages of a purchase of the yet ungrown harvest, while
the borrower takes the risk of that harvest being a failure.
When it is reaped, the sahukdr takes a quantity in payment of
his loan and the remainder at cash rates ; if it fails, the debt
still remains. Even those few independent cultivators who
bring their own cotton to market invariably place it with
a broker for sale ; and the broker is merely a moneylender in
a different role. Among themselves the big merchants indulge
freely in speculation on options, sattds as they are called,
and this leads to not infrequent insolvencies. Of European
firms Messrs. Volkarts and Co. and Messrs. Gaddam and Co.
have agents at Amiaoti, but by far the most important are
Messrs. Ralli Brothers, who do business in all the six cotton
markets and carry on a considerable trade also in gram
and oilseed. All these deal with the brokers.
Retail sale of local goods and of imports is in the
hands of Bohras, Cutchis, Memons, Khojas, Lads, Malis,
Koshtis and a variety of minor castes and deserves no
special mention.
245. In 1870 so far as can be ascertained from the
Excess of exports over
imports.
figures given in Sir Alfred Lyall’s
Gazetteer the imports of this District
appear considerably to have exceeded
the exports. Commerce was not as yet centred entirely on the
railv ay and the services of the Berar bullock who still did much
of the carrying trade both of exports and imports, were probably
234 amraoti district, toans, prices, Wages, etc,
largely responsible for this state of affairs. To-day however
the balance is inclined very much in the othei direction ;
in 1902 the excess of exports was valued at about 70 lakhs
and it rose steadily to 114 lakhs m 1905, The figures
at first sight are startling, but their explanation is to be found
in the cotton trade , thus in 1906 when the harvest was
a poor one the excess fell from 114 lakhs to about 73
lakhs and again in 1907 to 58 lakhs. The real market
of cotton is of course Bombay, and the values given include
the cost of services rendered by the Great Indian Peninsula
Railway m freightage, and by Bombay firms such as Alessrs,
Ralli Brothers as well as the big Marwari films which
arrange for its transport thither. The return for these
services is not made in the District and hence in part
at least the extreme disproportion between the figures.
There is practically nothing in the way of invisible import,
for besides the whole external carrying trade being in outside
hands, local rich men are very chary of distant investments.
Money, however, is very cheap, and living proportionately
expensive and it is therefore probable when all allowances
have been made for the facts just noticed that some portion
of the return for the District exports is being made in cash.
Communications.
246. The system of communications in Berar and in
'S t m of District in particular may be
Commumwuons. roughly compared to the human
anatomy. The Great Indian Peninsula
Railway running the whole length of the central valley is the
backbone • on it converges a network of roads, metalled and
unmetalled, communicating with most of the important towns
and centres of trade. There is a short arm reaching from
Badnera to Amraoti, and it is hoped that at no very distant
date branch railways will bring most of the more distant
tracts in touch with the mam line.
247. The Nagpur branch of the Great Indian Peninsula
Railways completed. ^^trict on the
south-west and quits it on the south-
east at the Wardha river after a run of about 45 miles. It
was opened for traffic in 1866 and has now nine stations
Communications.
255
in this stretch: Kurara, Takh, Badnera, Anjangaon Bari,
Malkhed, Chandur, Dipori, Dhamangaon and Talni. Of
these Badnera, Chandur and Dhamangaon are important
places at which the Mail trams stop and there is a considerable
goods traffic. The Amraoti branch above alluded to is a
State-owned line worked by the Great Indian Peninsula
Railway and was opened m 1871. Both lines are single
and the heavy traffic carried over them m the cotton season
leads to frequent unpunclualities and delays.
24.8. From Amiaoti city branch out roads which connect
Main roads. ^^stnct with the rail.
Of these the longest is that which runs
through Balgaon jaglr and Assegaon to Elhchpur and Parat-
wada, and on thence into the Melghat to Ghatang, Sembadoh
and Dharni debouching into Nimar at Dhertalai, a
distance in all of 98 miles of which 21 are first-class or fully
metalled road The mam branches of this great artery are
one from Balgaon due northwards to Chandur Bazar, a
distance of 16^ miles fully metalled , one from Ghatang to
Chikalda, winding up the hillsides for some fifteen miles on a
sufficiently easy gradient for most motor cars, and others
maintained by the District Board which branch east and west
from Elhchpur to Chandur Bazar and Anjangaon Surji ; the
first of these being continued as a fair weather road to
Morsi, and the latter as a gravelled road to Daryapur. From
Elhchpur a gravelled road shortly to be laised to the first-
class runs to Betul, crossing the border at Bairamghat about
the nth milestone. The mam road is also crossed at
Assegaon by a fair weather track from Chandur Bazar to
Daryapur, and the last mentioned place is connected with
Amraoti by a very good country road and with Murtizapur, a
railway station in the Akola District, by a high road, partly
metalled and partly gravelled, of 14 miles. The Morsi taluk
IS served by another first-class load which runs from Amraoti
by Sawarkhed close to Ner Pinglai and Sirkhed to Morsi and
thence to Hiwarkhed, Beuoda, WarQd, and Pusla to the
Wardha hver which it crosses soon after the sixty-sixth mile-
stone into the Nagpur District. The whole length of this is
now first-class road. Its only branch of importance, however,
25S AMRAOTI DISTRICT. LOANS, PRICES, WAGES, ETC.
is that from Warud to Multai via Bikatghat, a distance of 8
miles fiist-class road in this District. Country roads from
NSndgaon Peth to Tiosa and thence to the Wardha border,
from ' Warud to Amner and from Morsi to Chandur Bazar
(already alluded to) carry a great deal of traffic and it is
proposed to make them all first-class, the two foimer being
continued to Nagpur,
Amraoti, on which the above system of roads converges, is
connected with Badnera not only by the railway line already
mentioned but by a first-class metalled road of seven miles.
Thus the arrangements connecting the north and east of the
District with the outside world are, or will be when the
proposed additions are made, extremely good.
It IS otherwise with the south and south-east of the
District. This portion derives a far greater advantage from
the railway line which connects three of its most impor-
tant towns (Badnera, Chandur and Dhamangaon) and is not
very far from any of them ; but there is only one metalled
road and that is rather for the convenience of Yeotmal than
of Amraoti, connecting the headquarters of the former
District with the railway at Dhamangaon. It has a length
of 8 miles in the Chandur taluk. The lack of first-class or
second-class roads, however, is not so serious a matter as
might at first sight be supposed, for the country tracks,
except in the rainy season, are excellent and their soft surface
IS probably less tiring to the bullocks’ feet than a more
permanent roadway would be. Of these tracks that from
Nandgaon Peth to Tiosa, as already mentioned, is to be raised
to the first-class, and a second-class branch from Tiosa vta
Kurha will connect it with the railway at Chandur. Along
the extreme south of the District runs the old Nagpur Dak
line and a few hundred rupees yearly are still spent on keep-
ing it in moderate repair. Its Amiaoti branch is similarly
maintained as far as Badnera. Though passing by one or
two large villages, it is now of little importance : its place as
a through route has been taken by the railway, and the only
roads of importance now are those communicating directly
or indirectly with the latter. Finally mention should be
made of the excellent short roads for local purposes in
Amraoti Camp, FUichpur Civil Station, Chikalda and one or
communicatiokS.
257
two other places, and of the splendid system of communica-
tions maintained by the Forest Department in the Melghat
reserves. This is chiefly useful for forest purposes ; and for
through traffic the taluk depends chiefly on the P.W.D. roads
already mentioned and on a road from Akot to Selu which
IS in charge of the Executive Engineer West Berar. In the C
III tract the great local road is one which follows a semi-cir-
cular course from Jhin in the extreme south-west through the
Amner pargana into Bairagarh.
249, The Great Indian Peninsula Railway propose in the
_ . _ course of the next few years to lay
Proposed new Railways. , , , , i ’
down a broad gauge line from Amraoti
by Morsi and Warud to Saoner in the Nagpur District,
connecting with the Itarsi-Nagpur line now under
construction. Tins will bring the whole Morsi taluk within
easy distance of headquarters. A similar line from KhandwS
to Akola and Basim shortly to be constructed will also be of
use to the remoter parts of the Melghat, and it is hoped that
before long it may be found possible to connect Ellichpur
with the mam line by a light railway.
Accommodation for
Travellers.
250, For the convenience of various
classes of travellers it may be well to
give the accommodation available for
them.
{a). Circuit Houses : — (i) Amraoti Camp and {2)
Ellichpur Civil Station.
(6). Officers’ Rest Houses '—<■(1) Amraoti Camp, (a)
Chikalda (two bungalows) and (3) Ellichpur
Civil Station (for Police Officers only).
(c). Forest Inspection Bungalows : —
Amraoti Division : — (i) Pahora & (2) Mehdari.
Melghat Division
(in the Bairagarh
reserve.)
17
f (i) Makla
I (3) Chunkhan
I (5) Rahu
I (7) Butram
(9) Chaurakund
\{ii) Rangobeh
(2) Taora
(4) Jarida
(6) Hatru
(8) Raipur
(10) Kolkaz
(12) Chopan
258 AMRAOTI DISTRICT. tOANS, PRICES, WAGES, ETC.
Melghat Division | (i) Tarubanda (2) Rangarao
(in the Gugumal j (3) Dakhna (4) Kotku
reserve) ( (5) Dhargarh (6) Patulda
((f) P.W.D. Inspection Bungalows • —
(i) Amraoti Camp (2) Pusla (3) Chikalda
(4) Chandur Bazar (5) Sawarkhed (6) Daryapur
(7) Morsi (8) Khatkali (9) Benoda
(Melghat) (12) Belkund
(10) Sembadoh (ii) Assegaon (Melghat)
(e). Combined Dak and Inspection Bungalows ; —
(i) Dhamangaon Railway, (2) Badnera
(3) Chandur Railway (4) Ghatang
(/) Dak Bungalows ■ —
(i) Amraoti Camp, (2) Ellichpur Civil Station, (3) Assegaon
(g) P.W.D. Inspection Huts : — (i) Kohana and
(a) Khatkali (Melghat)
(k) Sayats. The following is a list of those maintained
by the District Board —
’ (i) Anjangaon Bari (a) Kholapur (3) Daryabad
(4) Bliatkuli (5) Wathoda (6) Ganuri
Amraoti _ (7) DhSnora Fasi (8) Mahuh (g) Sayat
Taluk (10) Chichked (ii) Virul {12) Rahatgaon
(13) Shirala (14) Naotha (15) Takerkheda
\(i6) Pusada (17) Badnera
1 (1) Chandur Railway (2) Malkhed
{3) Dattapur (4) Talni
(5) Talegaon Dashasar (6) Mangrul Dastgir
(7) Ajansingi (8) Nandgaon Kazi
{9) Wirul (lo) Sendurjana Buzurg
(ri) Kalasi (12) Kaudinyapur (13) Dipori
(i) Benoda (2) Burgaon (3) Pliwatkhed
(4) Jarud (5) Pusla (6) Malkapur
(7) Barur (8) Ganeshpur (9) Loni
(10) Morsi ( ii ) Daryapur (12) Sawarkhed
“ (13) Ner Pinglai (14) Belura (13) Ridhpur
(16) Ambada (17) KhanSpur (x8) Shirkhed
,{19) RajSra,
COMMUNICATIONS.
259
(i) Wanosa (i) Adul (3) Yeoda
(4) Wadnergangai (5) Surji (6) Kapustaln
i (7) Khallar (8) Pimplod (9) Babhh
(10) Daryapur (ii) Takli (12) Sategaon
1(13) Borala (i4)Anjangaon(i5)Kadatkheda
1 (1) Kandli (2) Chandur Bazar (3) Konwardha
(4) Pathrot (5) Madhan (6) Bhugaon
{7) Sirasgaon Bund (8) Karajgaon (9) Bairam
(10) Assegaon (ii) Kurha (ii) Gaurkhed
(13) Dhamangaon (14) Saolapur (15) Brahman-
wdda Thadi
In addition to these there are m various places dharamshnlns
maintained by private munificence for native travellers, and it
IS a point of honour with every village that can afford it to
maintain a mmdjivkhdna of some sort.
CHAPTER VI.
FORESTS AND MINERALS.
Forests.
251.
Government Forests.
The District comprises two forest divisions, Melghat
and Amraoti. The latter contains the
forest of the 5 plain taluks of the
District and the former, that of the Melghat taluk alone. The
Amraoti Division consists of 4 ranges and the Melghat
Division of 7 ranges, as follows : —
(aj Amraoti.
0)
Amraoti with its headquarters at
Pahora
(2)
Chandur
do.
Kurha
(3)
Morsi-Warud
do.
WarQd
(4)
Morsi-Bairam
do.
Morsi
Melghat.
(I)
Gugumal with its headquarters at
Koha
(2)
Chaurakund
do.
Harisal
(3)
Butram
do.
Raipur
(4)
Khandu
do.
Jarida
(5)
Sembadoh
do.
Sembadoh
(6)
Chikalda
do.
Chikalda
(7)
Revenue
do.
Elhchpur
The range oflficei of the last named has no forest actually
in his charge but has control of the line of mkas or forest
custom houses situated along the south side of the timber
reserves. The total area of the District covered by forests
is 1758 square miles, of which 253 square miles lie in
Amraoti and the rest in Melghat. Thus the forest of the
District represents 37.15 per cent, of the total area of the
District. The forests are further divided into three classes,
A or timber and fuel reserve, B or fodder reserve and
PORESTS
C pasture grounds. The area under the three classes is
shown below separately for each division : —
Area in square miles of classes.
Division
A.
B.
C.
Total
Melghat
843
6
656
1505
Amraoti
57
18
178
253
Total
900
24
834
1758
Of the total area of the District forest, working plans have
been pro\'ided for 702 square miles only, but for B and C
classes are of course unnecessary. The A class forests of the
Amraoti Division are worked under a plan prepared by Mr.
E. E. Fernandez which has never been sanctioned. A new
working plan for them is now under preparation.
The principal state forests in the Amraoti Division are : —
(i) The Chiron reserve which lies in the Amraoti range
and is situated partly in the Amraoti and partly in the west of
the Chandur taluk about 10 miles east of Amraoti town.
(ii) The Lakhara reserve) Situated in the north-east of the
(iii)
(iv)
The Mehdari
The Shekhdari
Those in the Melghat Division are : —
t division and lying in the Morsi
J taluk in the Morsi- War Qd range.
These occupy very pearly the
[•eastern half of the Melghat
taluk.
(a) The Bairagarh reserve^
(h) The Gugumal
(c) The Chikalda
(d) The Kohana
The area protected from fire consists of 531,405 acres (830
square miles) namely, the above reserves and the two large
B class Forest Blocks near Amraoti. Thus the whole of the
A class forest with the exception of the had)til bans, and most
of the B class is thoroughly protected.
252. Of the A class forests in the Amraoti Division the most
Important are the babul baits, small
Amram'i’teteii. ^ acres apiece scattered
here and there throughout the plain
Mluks but amounting In all to a total of 7062 acres. They
are commonly found in low-lying ground and along the banks
of streams in the open country where there is an accumu-
lation of soil washed in during the monsoons and fresh
AMRAOTI DISTRICT. FORESTS AND MINERALS.
moisture is plentiful even in the hot weather. Black cotton
soil IS most suitable. The hdbul (^Acacia arahca) is usually
almost pure with a slight admixture of other Avacms (chiefly
A. leucopMoea and A. ebimtea), Dichrostachys cmevea, Balanites
Roxhivghn, rarely Pyosopis spmgera and Azadirachta tndwa.
In very wet low situations close to nullahs containing perennial
pools the wild date palm becomes invasive. The biibul is of
great value as a furmshei of excellent timber for village
purposes, of the very best fuel, of thorns for fencing and of pods
as food for cattle. It is in great demand as fuinace fuel for the
numerous cotton ginning and pressing factories scattered
throughout the country. On the rough hill sides in the reserves
originally covered with salai (Bosmlba thimfera) the charac-
teristic growth is now an open, often sparse, scrub and stunted
trees Such salat as remains is used for fuel, and in the Shekhdari
reserve teak (Teciona grandis') is also found yielding small
timber. Even under the most conservative treatment however
nothing better than low open fuel reserves interspersed with
a few timber trees can be hoped for in this dnusion.
253. ' The whole Melghat taluk with the exception of
The Melghiit Division. civil station and thejagir lands
IS classified as forest, but m reality the
‘ name is only applicable to the State forests of class A and B
‘ which are directly under the Forest Department. These
' latter forests comprise 849 square miles or one half of the
‘ taluk, and extend from the banks of the Tapti river — here-
‘ about 1000 feet above the sea-level — southwards over hill
‘ ranges of 2000 to 3000 feet elevation (culminating in the
‘ Chikalda plateau 3664 feet and Bairat 3866) to the southern
‘ slopes of the '’Satpuras. From the east where they border
‘ on the Betul District they spread south-west to the valley of
‘ the Wan river. The forests are deciduous and the chief
‘ characteristic is the prevalence of teak and its tendency to
‘ grow gregariously. The best is found on the lower slopes of
‘ the valleys of the Sipna, Khandu, Khapra and Kuapati
‘ rivers in the Bairagarh reserve lying north of Chikalda.
‘ The more recently protected and dryer Gugamal reserve
> This description was supplied by Mr, H B, Bartlett, Divisional
Forest Officer, MetghSt.
FORESTS.
263
west of Chikalda, contains less teak and of smaller dimen-
sions and usually restricted to the heads of valleys, salat
predominating 041 the hills. The Chikalda plateau (excepting
the civil station) and the foiests east and south-east form the
small Chikalda and Kohana reserves, more recently constitu-
ted, and contain little but fuel. Associated with the teak is
found the small bamboo (Dendyocalamus stnctus) on northern
slopes and in all sheltered valleys, but rarely on the level.
Mixed with teak are more than a hundred common species.
Sdj (Teymmaha tomentosd), teidu {Dtospyros Melamxylmt), pains
(Butea fyondosa) with its brilliant scarlet flowers, the fruit tree
chdy (Biiohanama laitfohd), some mahua (Bassta latifolta) are
characteristic trees on low-lying lands. Dhaiml {Anogemus
lait/olm), kndta {Lagevsiroeima parvifloya), hwas {Ougcmadalbe/-
gtoides) and the best bamboo clumps {Dendvocalamus styictus) are
noticeable on lower slopes and plateaux, but it is here also that
the majority of indigenous species are represented. Haldn
(/I cordi/ohft), often pure, grows to a large size. Moid
(Schyebera swietenioides') which yields a manna, molitn (fldma
Wodiey) and bljasdl (Ptmcarpiis Marsnpium) may be mentioned,
and on the steeper slopes the hiistim (Schletchem tnjuga, ) whose
early leaves show brightly on the hillsides in the hot season.
On poor and rocky ground the salat (Boswellta thunfm) marks
the type, associated with ganiar (CocMospemum Gossyptum)
and kavai (Steycuha uyens") the latter dining to bare rock
scarps associated with the so-called ''Cactus,” Euphoybta neyti-
folia (Linn) and the wild plantain (Mim supevha). Creepers
are chiefly confined to narrow moist ravines and the lower
valleys. Of these maJml (Bauhmta Vahltt) and gmny
MilkUta aumulata) the root of which is used for poisoning
fish, are most common. On the Chikalda plateau Piutis
' longifoUa, Gymllea yohusta, toon (Cedrela Toond), a cypru and
' lautana (a pest which spread rapidly and choked the forests
' until large sums were spent on its eradication) have been
introduced.’
254. The Forest Department was formed in Berat in
_ ^ ^ 186s by the appointment of an Assis-
ts em o atiagemen . Conservator Working under tha
guidance of the Coilservatot of Forestsj Central PiOVinceSj
264 A.MRAOTI DISTRICT, FORESTS AND MINERALS.
This officei, however, had little to do with the forests of the
then Amraoti District, which were managed under the Waste
Land Rules by the Deputy Commissioner. In 1867-68
a Daroga (Forest Rangei) w'as appointed in charge of these
District forests under the immediate and sole orders of the
Deputy Commissioner ; but the forests continued to be
managed exclusively on a revenue basis and weie farmed out
on yearly leases. The first step towards conservation of the
forests was made in 1869 by dividing the forest tiacts on the
hills east of Amraoti into 5 blocks to be worked in rotation.
People were allowed to cut and remove, free of charge, what
they liked with the exception of certain specified trees : and
even for these nothing more than the Tahsildar’s permission
was necessary. Leases were freely given for cultivation till
1870-71, when they were stopped under orders of the
Government of India.'
In i88o-8:, the same tract, 78 square miles in all, was
placed under the control of the Forest Department ; but the
remaining area continued under the management of the
Deputy Commissioner. In 1883, the Divisional Forest
Officer was put under the orders of the Deputy Commissioner
for the management of the District forests , but the sole
control in matters of departmental finance and organization
and of the State reserves was vested in the Conservator of
Forests. In 1884, the position of the Divisional Officer was
made that of an assistant in all forest matters to the Deputy
Commissioner. He consequently ceased to have any direct
official relations with the Conservator ; these however, were
resumed with certain modifications in 1901.
255. Melghat forest history is somewhat different from
MelghSt forest. Amraoti Division. The
Melghat came under British rule with
the rest of Beiar m 1853, when there was no forest adminis-
tration. Aboriginal Korkus were scattered over the tract
practising dliyil cultivation and selling timber in the Berar
plains. The first measure of protection was taken m 1858,
when under the Commisioner’s orders, a red belt was painted
round teak trees to prevent unlicensed cutting. In 1864-65
f Revenue and Agricultural Department No. 520, 26th October, 1871 .
FOfeEsts.
265
Colonel Peaison, then Conservator of Forests of the Central
Provinces, examined the forests and made proposals for their
management In 1865-66, Captain K. J. L. Mackenzie, then
Assistant Commissioner Melghat, demarcated as reserved
about 400 square miles of forest (Bairagarh reserve) and
started protection and regulation of export. It was as a
result of Captain Mackenzie’s enthusiasm that Mr. Ballantyne
who had been trained m the Edinburgh School of Forestiy
came out to India to take charge of this tract. In 1869 Sir
Dietrich Brandis, Inspector General of Forests, inspected the
Melghat forests and drew up a scheme for their management
which has formed the basis of all subsequent working. F rom
1866 indiscriminate felling of trees in the reserve was
practically stopped, and from 1870 fire protection was started
and by 1872 extended to the entire reserve. In 1874-75
Bairagarh was divided into 40 blocks for working purposes
and the experimental cutting back of unsound teak was
stalled m the Sipna valley. Extensive tracts of old cultiva-
tion along both banks of that river were planted with pure
teak. At the same time bamboo cutting was regulated.
In 1876-77 the Gugumal reserve was demarcated and fire
protected. Bamboo cutting in both reserves was regulated
on a three years’ rotation. The area of reserved forest in
1876 was 725 square miles and that of unreserved forest was
927 square miles. In 1880 temporary cultivation on the
banks of streams and on the slopes of hills where a plough
could not be used, was forbidden and the cutting of bamboos
for fodder was also prohibited.
256. The Berar Forest Law was passed in 1886, and rules
for the constitution and management
tlfrOistnct^forest of th® various classes of State forests
were issued in 1892. Thus according
to the rules in foice, the A and B class forests of both the
divisions of the District are strictly under the control of the
Forest Department. It is still laid down that the Divisional
Forest Officer is an assistant in forest matters to the Deputy
Commissioner, but the latter’s authority is rather interpellatory
than direct and consists of a right to be informed of measures
taken or proposed. Forests of A and B class are in practicb
managed entirely by the Forest Department, the head Of the
a66 AMR'i.O'fl blSTRICjl'. FOREs'rS AND kiNfefeALS.
District being consulted on such matters as fixing rates
of royalty, matters, that is to say, affecting the general
population and not of a purely technical nature.
257. Foiests of C class, however, stand on a different foot-
C class forest. Scientific forestry is not piactised
in them. There is considerable timber
growth in parts of the Melghat C class and a few patches in
the plains which should have been classified as Mbul bans :
but no attempt is made to conserve or improve these and no
check is put upon their wholesale destruction. In A and B
class forests, grazing by camels, sheep and goats is forbidden
and grazing licenses are separately issued for each particular
forest, a C class grazing pass is valid throughout the
District Shooting is permitted in C class under the same
rules that apply to Revenue lands; in the Reserves, a
special license is required.
There are three sub-classes . —
C 1. Forest outside the Melghat reserved foi pasture
and ordeied not to be resumed during the term
of Settlement.
C 11. Do. do. and not ordered not to be
resumed during the term of Settlement.
C 111. All pasture forest within the Melghat.
In practice the difference between the three is that C 1. is
revenue paying pasture, C 11. (of which there is no longer any
in the Amraoti District) free pasture, and C 111. a tract of 656
square miles of inhabited but backward country ; the latter
contains of course plentiful pasture land which is grazed under
the same system as C i, but much of the land has been taken
up for cultivation, a thing not generally permitted in the
C class elsewhere. The tract includes the whole western
portion of the Melghat as well as the southern foothills and a
small area in the pargana of Katkumbh m the east. It was
originally forest m the usual sense, and though containing
good culturable soil was owing to its extreme unhealthiness
but sparsely populated. The policy observed was to attract
settlers and open up the country with a view to a regular
settlement. The result is that the land has mostly been
denuded of valuable timber and an area of 165,934 acres
(or 359 miles), paying Rs. 51,015 revenue tb Government,
FOREST^.
267
has been brought under cultivation. The land is leased out
yearly by the Tahslldar, the unit of assessment being the yoke
of sixteen acres. In practice the Forest Department have
little or nothing to do with this tract, and preliminaries
of settlement in it have recently been commenced. Both
here and in the plains where the C class lands are mostly
isolated survey number and small blocks of pastures, a some-
what complicated system of dual control is in vogue, which
has not worked particularly well. Licenses to cut trees are
issued by the Deputy Commisioner with the concurrence
in case of certain trees of the Conservator. It lies with the
Forest Department, however, to see that concessions are not
abused and trees not cut without license. Villages lying
m certain blocks of C class have free-grazing rights.
Elsewhere patels issue grazing passes from pass books
supplied to them by Tahsildars and credit the receipts
as forest revenue into the sub-treasuries. The pass books are
however checked not by the Tahsildars who issue them but by
officers of the Forest Department, and a lack of systematic
co-operaiion between the two departments has led m the past
to a great deal of uncertainty, and, it is to be feared, has
opened the door to occasional peculation. The best aspect of
the arrangement has been that it gave to village pasture the
sanctity attaching to State forests , to bring it under culti-
vation required the consensus of the Deputy Commissioner,
Commissioner and Conservatoi, the sanction of the Resident
and a notice in the Gazette. Even this advantage was cast
aside some years ago in an attempt (which has proved fairly
successful) to civilize some of the wandering ciiminal tribes
by inducing them to take to agriculture on easy terms. The
reorganization of the whole system is in progress. C 111., as
already mentioned, is to be brought under settlement ; of the
C class lands in the plains all blocks less than i6o acres in
extent, except such as are capable of being made bahul baits,
will probably be disforested and made over to the Revenue
Department as revenue pasture lands, the remainder are to
be managed by the Forest Department alone.
358. The chief sources from which forest revenue is
Collection of revenue.
collected are grazing, fodder, and
tiinbar ; to which may be added
268 AMftAOTI DISTRICT. FORESTS AND MINERALS.
bamboo and other minor pioduce, firewood and charcoal.
Timber which abounds in the Melghat is practically absent
from the Amraoti Division. The firewood, grazing and fodder,
however, provided by the latter are closer at hand and more
convenient for the villages of the plains. In the Amraoti
Division, the babul bans, the grass in pasture lands, gum,
mangoes and mahua are sold by auction, the purchaser
undertaking the extraction. Grazing is allowed on annual
passes issued by patels for C class forests and by the
regular forest staff for A forests. The right of grass and
grazing in each babul ban separately is also auctioned separately
and prices ranging up to Rs. 5 or Rs. 6 per acre per annum are
realised : hence the great value of these apparently insigni-
ficant blocks. Other produce is sold on passes at the rates
fixed by the Local Administration. The produce of this
division IS too limited in quantity and interior in quality
to find a way beyond its borders. Existing lines of export
consequently merely serve to distribute the produce such as it is
over the division itself. In the Melghat Division timber trees
are marked and sold standing to purchasers, who cut and
remove the timber to forest depots, where it is measured and
passes are obtained. Bamboos are cut by purchasers in the
open compartments under permits, and then exported for sale.
Minor produce, as a rule, is collected by purchasers and
either sold locally or removed for export to the revenue
stations {ntlkas) All such produce, with the exception of
certain products, consumed locally is free. Mahua and
mango trees are put up to auction in the village, and the
lessee has the right to collect fruit and flowers ; the right to
collect lac, gum, harm and other commercial products and the
right to distil rusa. grass oil are usually leased out. Speaking
of Melghat exports Mr, Bartlett says. ‘Owing to the distance
‘ of Bairagarh and Gugumal reserves from the Berar plains,
‘ the forest export is practically restricted to teak and tiwas
‘ timber and bamboos. Of minor produce lac, myrobalans, the
‘fruit of the hlda and fusa oil are the most important.
* Some firewood is removed from the south of the Gugumal
‘ reserve and from Kohfina, but it is from the southern C iii.
‘ forests (pasture lands where no control is exercised over the
‘ felling of trees) that the bulk of fuel is exported as well as
FOREgTS. 269
‘most of the foddef grass and ffisa oil, These latter forests
‘ also supply grazing for the cattle of the majority of the
‘ plain villages near the border. The demand for fodder grass
' m and around ElUchpur is met by the Hatighat rammh
' and the Kohana reserve. The principal markets for timber
‘ are ElUchpur, Popatkhera and Jhiri Bazar (the latter two
* supplying Akot), and some produce is taken direct to Burhan.
‘ pur and Khandwa. Much of the produce of the C iii, forests
' is consumed iocally.’
259, Two minor forest products of the Melghat may be
Minor forest products.- ®e“tioned, lac and msa oil. Of the
former there is a large quantity, but
unfortunately the Korkus regard it as unclean, and cannot
be prevailed upon to touch it. The Gond has no scruples
about the matter, but is unfortunately ignoiant of the best
methods of cultivation and gathering. It is proposed to
import a few skilled lac-pickers from the north of the Central
Provinces and teach them, and it is hoped that the cultivation
may then prosper. Rusa on the other hand is freely handled
by both tribes. The oil which is used m prepanng itr and
other perfumes is obtained from a variety of the grass Cymhc-
pogon* Martini, winch the distillers know as motia (or “pearly”
alluding to the value of the oil) ; there is an inferior quality
called Sofia (or “ second rate ”) which yields a pungent ml, and
at least two other varieties which are never used for distillation,
In the plains of Berar the grass is called tikhan. Motia is
collected along the southern slopes of the Gawllgarh hills and
also northwards on the banks of the Tapti, Sofia rules in the
centre and at the higher elevations ; it also occurs m patches
in the midst of motta but m no great abundance. The
breadth, colour and hang of the leaves are the chief charac-
teristics by which the eye can distinguish the two
varieties ; the scent is the final test. The grass flowers at the
end of the rains, and this is the time for distilling. Stills are
erected beside streams up and down the little valleys, and
villagers collect the grass. There is then a rush to get the
most out of the short time when the work can be done, for the
• For the Information on we are indebted to Mr I. H. Burkill,
Reporter on Economic Products to the (Jovemmcot pf India,
» Vol Andropogon,
270 AMRAOTI DISTRICT. FORESTS AND MINERALS,
fine scent of the grass depreciates alike if kept too long uncut
or if stacked too long after cutting. The still owners attempt
to compromise both by stacking and by prolonging the time
over which the grass is reaped. In the beginning of October
one may see a little sun-dried nek of grass ready stacked for
use by the side of every still. A distillery consists of a row
of cauldrons, usually three or four on a built-up range of fire
places at the edge of a stream, and from the cauldrons
bamboo pipes pass to receivers submerged in the stream.
Two Sizes of cauldron rule, one taking more than twice as
great a charge as the other , the best aie made of copper,
inferior ones of iron. The best receivers have long necks but
many distillers work with neckless receivers. The sand and
mud of the stream gets in small quantity into the oil, and
makes a sediment together with soot and copper oxide from
the still. The distilled oils aie collected together in Elhch-
pur and other centres and decanted off the sediment ; thence
the chief part finds its way down to Bombay for export to
Europe.
260. The total revenue deiived from the forests of the
District 111 i8qo-i8qi was Rs. 272,817.
Receipts and . i / j./
e.xpendrture. I" ipoo-oi, however, owing to the
famine it was Rs. 97,360 less than
this figure. Even in that year, as the following table shows,
the forests more than paid then way, ending with a substantial
margin of close on three-quarters of a lakh in hand. In sub-
sequent years, the revenue of the Amraoti Division has steadily
increased, while that of Melghat also has shown an immense
improvement. By far the largest item of Amraoti revenue is,
as might be expected, grazing and fodder, the largest m the
Melghat being timber.
The following table shows Forests receipts and expenditure
in the Amraoti District
PORESTS.
«7t
CO
3
CO
Rs.
1,30,445
i 30,359
1,05,523
93,126
87,417
97,641
1,20,301
1,05543
76,5^
•qOBjiuv
Rs.
63,050
3^482
55,224
71,491
76,759
79,408
83 333
91,045
77.645 :
OS
it
§ a
1
■?pii3I3W
Rs.
69,183 j
84,318 1
73,611
74,669
87,326 !
76,570
74,320
80,214
86,678
•IIOBJIUV
Rs.
9,824
21,983
17,664
21,105
27,649
32 937 j
36,001
33741
38,^
1
•KqSpw
1
Rs.
1,99,628
1,14,677
1,79,133
1,67,795
1 74,743
1,74,211 1
1 94,621 ,
1,85,757
1,65,276 j
jiOBJUiv
Rs ^
72,874
60,465
72,888
92,596
1 04,408
1,12,345
1,19,334
1,24,786'
1,15,908'
li
cu
•irqSiaw
Rs i
3,486
10,935
11,975
23,103
17,794
18,858 ,
17,887
15,785
15618
•iqOB.»UlV
Rs.
4,828
2,186
4,271
4 280
6,259 '
6,434 j
7,138
7,584 J
6,737 ;
Gsazing and
Fodder Grass.
jpqSiSM
Rs.
14,801
11,778
17,782
20,202
25,122
26,998
26,397
23,105
32,338
•i^OHjiuy
Rs.
48,277
38,730
52,119
71,580
82,292
86,243
93,478
j 94,556 *
96072 '
•»!?q3(3W
Rs.
47,187
26,727
36,754
28,781
34,896
27,944
32852
34 276
*HOB4Uiy
Rs.
3
136
302 i
489 1
1,241
695 1
22
13
92
Firewood and
Charcoal.
•;rqSpw
Rs.
11,397
9,434
15,702
13,616
18,653
17,664
17,056
7,355
'i^OBjaiy
Rs.
19,643
18,280
15,669
15,770
13,858
18,623
18,638
22,490
12,957
Timber I
MSqBiaW
Rs.
1,22,757
55,803
92,740
80,007
83,315
81,758
99,821
78 907
M^OBUtuy
Year.
1890-91
1900- 01
1901- 02
1902- 03!
1903- 04
1904- 05
1905- 06
1906- 07
1 1907—08
J ‘
272 AMRAOTI JJISTRICT. FORESTS AND MINERALS,
261. Of the total area of 1758 square miles of the
District forest, 903 square miles (69
Area oloaed^and open to ^ forests and the whole of C
forests) IS open for grazing to all
animals all the year round. The remaining area of 791
square miles of A forest (780 from Melghat and 1 1 from
Ainraoti) is closed for grazing to all animals except those
belonging to forest villagers which can be grazed only on an
area of 774 square miles of the Melghat A reserve. It is
estimated that 389,678 head of cattle grazed in 1906-07,
262. The District does not contain any private forests.
Private Forests. l^^wever, in most villages of
the five plain taluks of the District
some area — ^apart from that occupied by the Government
forests — set aside for free grazing. Many of these so-called
grazing lands are in reality dense babul thickets and conse-
quently of little use for pasture. Such area amounted to
44,275 acres in 1906-07 , the whole of the former C li. forest has
been included in this area. The Melghat jagirs contain some
51,03a acres of land under forest, but it is of little importance,
263. Of 236 miles of road in the District controlled by the
Roadside Arboriculture. Public Works Department 991 have
complete avenues, 46^ miles have
avenues that still contain gaps, 2^ miles have been lately
planted with young tiees and 87 miles have no avenues.
Parts of the Amraoti-Ellichpur and Amraoti-Morsi roads are
well shaded, but as a rule, the avenues are very poor. The
District Board maintains small avenues of about seven miles
in all, and the Amraoti Camp Municipality has also a few
miles. In Ellichpur civil station are one or two very fine
avenues, especially one known as ‘ the Mall.' The trees most
usually planted are nlm, mango, mahua, tamarind and various
members of the fig tribe.
Minerals.
264. No mines are worked in the District nor is it at all
Minerals. likely that any of importance will
be discovered. The brackish water of
the Daryapur taluk discloses the presence of considerable
MINERALS.
273
quantities of salt below the sutface, and in former days a small
amount of salt-drying was locally carried on and the product
was even one of the exports of Berar. At a hill known as
Gulal Tekn, about a mile north of Dabheri (Morsi taluk), and
in the Amraoti hills iron ore of laterite origin is said to be
obtainable, but is not turned to any account. Consideiable
masses of Gondwana sandstone crop out along the southern
face of the Gawilgarh hills, and the stone which is extiemely
fine might be much moie used for building than it is. The
old fort at Karasgaon, the city walls and the magnificent
tombs of the Nawabs at Ellichpur aie of sandstone,
Besides this the trap of which both the hill ranges of the
District are largely composed, makes very durable building
stone as exemplified in the town walls of Amraoti as well as
many of the new public buildings, and good though by no
means perfect road metal. Murmn (a softer road metal but
better for light traffic), earth, sand and lime are also quarried.
Some manganese ore was once found at Pimpalkhuta in the
Morsi taluk : ‘ but the result of local inquiry was to show
that the broken fragments of ore which had been found at
a short depth beneath the surface inside the village had
been bi ought from some unknorvn localities by former in-
habitants. Similarly there is a block of excellent coal m
the Geological Museum at Calcutta said to come from, a
ravine near Chikalda : but nothing further is known about
it Its history is probably verysimilai. The annual outturn
of minerals, chiefly trap, murmn, etc., is insignificant and is in-
cluded under the heading ‘minor produce’ in the Forest
Accounts already given.
I V. Ball Manual of the Geology of India, Port III. Economic
Geology, page 331 (1881).
CHAPTER Vn,
Famine,
265. Amraoti has no separate famine history prior to
„ , „ , the cession in 1853, but there are
various references to famines m Berar,
which may be taken to include this District. In the reign
of Muhammad Shah BahmanI (1378-1397) Berar, m common
with the rest of the Deccan, was devastated by a terrible
famine, and the orphanage established by that sovereign at
Elhchpui IS one of the earliest recorded attempts to mitigate such
a disaster. It is highly improbable that the province escaped
the famine of 1417, which affected the greater part of the
Deccan Again in 1472-73 Malwa and the Deccan including
Berar were wasted by a famine which lasted for 2 years and
caused wholesale emigration to Bengal and Gujarat. In
1630-31, the fourth year of the reign of Shah Jahan, there was
a terrible famine throughout Gujarat, Khandesh, Berar, and
the Province of Daulatabad. Tradition has it that the flesh
of dogs was sold by butchers as goats’ flesh, crushed bones
of the dead were mingled with the floui exposed for sale, and
parents devoured their children. The famine of 1803 was
remembered 50 years afterwaid and Berar did not escape
the famine of 1833 which caused considerable distress,
In the great famine of 1839 the distress was very great
and no measures of relief were attempted by the native
government. The extensive emigration, which took place
at tins period, must have been a powerful factor in
reducing the Distiict to its poor condition at the time
of the Assignment in 1853. In 1845 there was distress
caused by the high price of juari, which rose from Rs. 5
to Rs. 20 a kJiandt, and the enraged populace of Amraoti
murdered one Dhanraj' Sahu, a wealthy trader, who had
bought up large quantities of rice with a view to obtain
large profits. In 1853 Amraoti with the rest of Berar came
■ This chapter deals with the Amraoti and Ellichpur Districts, ag
constituted prior to their amalgamation.
FAMINE.
275
under British rule and there ensued a period of prosperity
only broken by the prevalence of high prices in the year
1878 and 1879. So lemote did the idea of famine seem that
in 1893 the Commissionei felt justified in reporting that a
programme of relief works was not required for Berar, This
optimistic attitude was to receive a rude shock during the
next decade.
266. The season of 1895-96 had been one of scanty
rainfall, only 24 inches 8 cents being
^^tTl'uUs, '"1896-07!*" recorded, but a bumper crop of cotton
was reaped and except for the defi-
ciency in the water-supply the condition of the people up to
June 1896 was quite satisfactory. The rams of i8g6 opened
very favourably and by the beginning of August everything
pointed to a bumper crop of cotton and juar. But suddenly
and inexplicably the rams ceased about the 25lh August and
beyond a fall of 3 inches in November no rain of any value
fell again till June 1897. The total rainfall of the year was
34 inches 12 cents. The result of the sudden cessation of
the rains was that the rah crop, owing to the lack of moisture,
was almost a total failure. But the important crops of this
District are cotton and juar, and these, though much below
the average, shewed fair results, a rough estimate putting
them at half a normal crop. Had Berar been an isolated tract
dependent on its own resources, it is probable that in the plain
taluks there would have been no famine. But unfortunately
the general failure of the monsoon throughout India affected
Berar by causing a sudden rise of prices, which paralysed
local trade for the time being. Juari rose from 19 seers in
the rupee to 12 seers m October 1896 and varied from 10 to 7
seers from November 1896 to October 1897. Wheat rose
from 13 seers to 8 seers in October 1896 and remained at
about 7 seers from Novembei 1896 to October 1897. It
was realized that some distress was inevitable, the Bombay
Famine Code was therefore applied, and a programme of
relief woiks was prepared, A sum of Rs. 33,000 was spent
on relief works which consisted prmcipally of stone-breaking,
road-making and tank repairs, and the percentage of persons
thus relieved to the total population was o-g only. Gratuitous
relief was mainly given by means of poor-houses and
276
AMRAOTI DISTRICT. FAMINE.
relief-centres. Ten poor-houses were maintained with a daily
average attendance of 2270 and the total expenditure in
connection with them was Rs 16,238. Weekly doles were
also given to a number of old and infirm persons , and the
distress among the weavers of Elhchpur and Anjangaon was
met in this way The opening of cheap gram shops also
affoided relief to a number of poor but respectable people.
The measuies of Government were laigely supplemented
by the effoits of private chaiity, which was especially active
in this District. A poor-house was maintained at Amraoti
by private subsciiptions at a cost of ovei Rs. 8000. A sum
of Rs. 35,000 was also raised in the Distuct m connection
with the Indian Charitable Relief Fund, and from charitable
funds of all kinds the large sum ot Rs. 76,000 was spent.
The famine operations were complicated by a sudden inrush
of paupers from the Central Provinces in July and August
1897. Many of these arrived m an emaciated condition, and
there was a considerable mortality from starvation among
them, though every effort was made by means of poor-houses
and village relief to meet the difficulty. The death-rate of the
District compared favourably with that of the previous year
till Apiil 1897, when it began to rise and m August and
September it reached its highest monthly average of 8 per mille.
Cholera prevailed m April and May and in the rams dysenteiy
and diarrhoea of a severe type were common. The Distuct
death-rate for 1897 was 59.4 per mille The cultivators were
not severely affected by the distress, the high puces obtained
by them for their crops enabled them to pay the land revenue
with ease, 99 per cent, of the demand being paid, and the
presence of a large number of labourers gave them the
opportunity of making many cheap improvements m their
land. The class that suffered most from the high prices was
the class of agricultural labourers, who form 30 per cent, of
the population ; for not only did they have to pay more for
their food, but their wages were reduced by the competition
of workers, who flocked in from the neighbouring Provinces.
267. In the season of 1897-98 the rainfall amounted to
1899 . 1900 . mches and 18 cents or more than
8 inches below the average of the
pre-uous ten years. The kharlf crops were everywhere
l^AMINE.
excellent but there was not enough moisture in the soil for
nh crops. The juari crop was one of the finest ever known,
and the general price of the gram fell to about 20 seers for the
rupee. The season of 1898-99 was also one of short rainfall,
the average for the District being 21 inches 26 cents or 14
inches 3 cents less than the average of the preceding ten
years. The juari harvest was again good and the price of
this gram fell to about 27 seers per rupee , as in the previous
year the mbi crops were inferior. Thus by the spring of
1899, the stock of the chief food gram had been replenished
by two good harvests in succession, and the condition of the
people was generally good. The effect of four ‘years of
deficient rainfall however began to be felt on the water-supply,
and the scarcity of drinking water caused much inconvenience
and distress. The season of 1899-1900 opened fairly well
in June, an average rainfall of 3 84 being recorded ;
but the average for July was 2.97 inches and for August
2.46 inches only, and the rams ceased altogether in the third
week of September. The result was a complete failure of
both the lhavlf and raU crops. The normal outturn of the
principal food crops, juari and wheat, for the preceding ten
years, exclusive of 1896-97, had been about 35 lakhs of
maunds; the actual outturn of 1899-1900 was about 14,000
maunds. The loss represented by this difference is estimated
to have been about 164 lakhs of rupees. At the end of
September the price of the staple food gram, juaii, went up
to famine point, selling at 13 to 15 seers a rupee. It rose
in October to gj seers and fluctuated between ii and Sf
seers from November 1899 to May 1900, when there was a
further rise, and the highest price reached was 7^ seers m
July igoo. From August 1900 the price began to fall again
but it did not reach the normal till some months later. But
for the large imports of Bengal and Rangoon rice at the
beginning of the famine the price would have gone still
higher.
268. At the end of September 1899 the imminence of
„ . famme was realized and test works
Relief works. , . 1 .
were opened at once. The test works
proved the existence of famine conditions, and in November
large relief works under the charge of the Public Works
478
AMRAOTI DISTRICT. I>AMINE.
Department were opened. These works mainly consisted of
stone metal collections, constructions of new roads and repairs
existing roads, carnage of stone metal from quarries to
roadside, construction of new tanks, and cleaning of old tanks.
Each work foimed a sepaiate charge under a civil officer,
whose duties were administrative, while the Public Works
Department supplied the technical knowledge. Altogether
44 works weie opened, the maximum open at one tune being
27 m July 1900. The number of workers varied from 6000
to 7000 during the quaiter ending November 1899, by April
the number reached 46,000, and in June the panic caused by
the holding off of the rams sent the numbers up to 48,000,
In July there was a lapid decrease and by the end of
September there were only 1112 people on the woiks. The
total expenditure on the works was nearly 1 1 lakhs of rupees,
whereas their cost at normal lates would have been only 4^
lakhs. The cause of this high cost is ascribed to the necessity
of employing much ineffective labour, such as children and
weakly persons, and also to the existence of a minimum
wage. With the exception of four loads m the Ellichpur
taluk, of which the earth work only was done, the works
were all of permanent utility. The total numbei of units
relieved was 11,593,810 and the incidence per head was
I anna ten pies
269. In June 1900, when the rains set in, the policy of
Village works. Opening village works with a view to
affording temporaiy employment to
people near their homes until there should be labour in the
fields was adopted. The work done consisted chiefly of
improvement to village sites and local roads, and the collec-
tion of kanhay (limestone nodules) for road repairs. The
carrying of stone metal from the large works to roadsides
was also made available for village works, and many of these
works were located so as to serve circles or blocks of
neighbouring villages. Such works were conducted under
more or less supervision from the establishment of the Public
Works Department and the District Boards , but it was
difficult to exact adequate tasks, and the value of the work
done was not high, The maximum number of Workers was
25,000 in July 1900. The total number of units relieved was
FAMlliE.
279
1,086,137 and the expenditure was Rs. 1,04,608, giving an
incidence of i anna 6 pies per head.
270. In the old Elhchpur District special measures for
Kehef to weave, s. community
were found necessary and the Nagpur
system was adopted. Advances were made to middlemen
who were supposed to employ none but distressed weavers,
and the cloth manufactured was purchased by Government
from the middlemen at prices slightly in excess of the market
rates. The total expenditure was Rs. 17,000 and out of this
Rs. 13,000 were recovered by the sale of cloth.
271 The gratuitous relief given fell under three mam
Gratuitous relief. heads, namely
(a) Relief of non-woiking children and other depen*
dents of relief workers on large works.
(h) Gram doles or cooked food given to persons
eligible under the Famine Code.
(c) Relief in poor-houses.
(a) At the beginning of the famine cash allowances
were paid to dependents, but, as soon as they could be
organized, kitchens were attached to eveiy large work.
The number of dependents so relieved reached its maximum
figure, 15,000, in May igoo, of which 86 per cent, were
children. The total units of dependents relieved were
2,151,068 and the expenditure was Rs. 78,544, giving the
incidence of cost per head as 7 pies.
( 5 ) The gratuitous dole was given in grain to certain
classes, who were incapable of woiking and had no means of
support, and also to a certain number of the village servants
who had their ordinary duties to perform. Emaciation
was always accepted as proof of eligibility for the dole.
The dole was distributed through the agency of the
village officers assisted by local committees and in munici-
palities under the municipal authorities. The relief lists
were strictly examined and controlled for some time, but
during the hot weathei and rains the expansion of such relief
was inevitable. The total of units so relieved was 22,88,596
at an expenditure of Rs. 1,71,380, wiffi an incidence of cost
per unit of i anna 2 pies. Before the rains of 1900 there
had been 30 State kitchens open in the District but during
28 o
AMRAOTI DISfkiCT. FAMINE.
the rams the number went up to 331 Each kitchen was
expected to serve an area of 2 to 3 miles. They were under
the same supervision and control as the relief dole and
were used principally by children. The total number of units
relieved was 3,040,367 at an expenditure of Rs. 1,64,332
or an incidence of 10 pies per head
(c) Fourteen poor-houses were opened in the Distiict.
They were frequented by the lower castes, the infirm, beggars
and childien. The inmates weie so largely persons broken
down by disease and wanderers brought in at a stage when no
relief could save them that the poor-houses may be regarded
almost as infirmaries. The poor-house population was kept
down by drafting inmates to relief works, as they became fit
for labour and transferring others for gratuitous relief in their
villages. The total number of units relieved was 841,899 at
an expenditure of Rs. 62,152, or an incidence of 8 annas 2
pies per head.
273-. Instiuctions were issued to Tahslldars that the land
Indirect relief revenue should be collected only from
persons able to pay it and that nobody
should be driven to borrow m order to pay the assessment.
At the close of July 1900, out of a demand of about 27^
lakhs only a little over 6 lakhs remained uncollected. Of tins
amount about Rs. 38,000 were remitted m the ensuing year.
The Famine Commission condenmed the relief as altogether
insufficient and also remarked that the procedure of enquiry
into the cucumstances of individuals should never be followed
m limes of famine. During the years 1899-1900 and 1900-01
loans amounting to Rs. 1,47,421 under the Land Improve-
ment Loans Act were advanced to cultivatois ; also petty
advances amounting to Rs. 5410 were made to poor cultiva-
tors free of interest.
371). The Famine Commission make a special reference to
Charitable relief
the remarkable degree of success which
was attained in this District in the
organization of private chanty. Twenty-seven poor-houses wore
maintained by private subscriptions, and the expenditure on
the village dole in the Chandur taluk was nearly all met from
the same source. Gifts of clothing and cooked and uncooked
food were also frequently made by private persons. In the
KUilNE.
Ellichpur taluk gram funds were organized under the super-
vision of village committees. A number of private gentlemen
and traders also helped the poor by the distribution of cooked
food and made liberal gifts to poor-houses. The missionaries
as usual were active in relieving distress and spent Rs. 76,000
on various foims of relief. The Roman Catholic Mission and
IheChristian Missionary Alliance were atwork in the old Amraoti
District, the Daughters of the Cross at Amraoti visiting
relief camps m all weathers, dispensing medicines and
tending the sick In the old Ellichpur District the Korku
and Central India Mill Mission gave employment to a numbei
of the distressed Ellichpur weavers, purchasing cloth from
them at low rates. They also maintained an asylum at
Kothaiia for distressed lepers, and the number in the asylum
was at one time 200. A liberal grant of Rs. 2,40,231 was
made from the Indian Charitable Relief Fund; of this
Rs. 21,000 were devoted to providing the inmates of poor-
houses and kitchens with clothes and other necessaries,
Rs. 21,000 were spent on relief to the respectable poor and
Rs. 1,13,521 were devoted to assisting cultivators, who for
want of security could not obtain loans from Government,
with seed, bullocks, fodder, etc. This latter form of relief was
of the utmost value and as a direct result of this assistance
89,500 acres of land are estimated to have been sown, which
would otherwise have remained waste.
274. Berai cultivators formerly had an unfortunate habit
^ . in th® monsoon of getting rid of the
stacks of earn left on their hands by
burning them down after green grass had sprung up. The
cattle thus had nothing to depend upon except grass until the
next juari crop was leady, and, when, as in 1899, both juan
and grass failed, heavy mortality among the cattle was inevi-
table. Many owners of cattle were compelled either to sell
their cattle at nominal prices or to send them into the
Melghat, where fodder was ample. But the steep and stony
hillsides of the Melghat did not suit the cattle of the plains
and they perished in large numbers there. Every effort was
made by the Forest Department to meet the fodder difficulty.
From the 8th September the Melghat reserves covering an
area of 808 square miles were thrown open to free grazing.
j 82 AMRAOTI blSTRlCT. FAMINfi.
The ‘ A ’ and ‘ B ’ reserves of the plains were divided into a
senes of three blocks and opened m rotation for grazing. It
s estimated that 85,427 tons of grass were removed by
private exporters from the forest reserves of the District.
Government grass-cutting operations were started in the
Melghat. Grass was collected to the amount of 5,437,882 lbs.
md slacked at 19 sale dep6ts in the Melghat, and when it
ivas found that there was a keen demand for grass delivered
n the plains, 3 more dep6ts were opened theie. These
Dperations, though resulting in a small financial loss, greatly
lelped in saving the plough cattle and also afforded useful
jmployment m the way of famine relief to large numbers of
:he labouring population. But, m spite of all the efforts
nade to save the cattle, it is estimated that m the old
fVmraoti District 53 per cent, and m the old Ellichpur District
5 o per cent, of the total number perished.
275. In the earlier months of the famine period the
?ubl.c health and crime, 'mortality per mensem wasless than usual,
and it increased gradually till April.
From May it lose rapidly, till m August it reached the highest
point, viz. II 2 per mille in the old Amraoti District and 10 i
per mille in the old Ellichpur Distiict. The average for the
lame month in the previous ten years had been 4 per mille.
From September 1900 the death-rate fell gradually till it
reached the normal again m January 1901. The year 1900
ivas unusually unhealthy apart from the famine. The severe
Irought made water and vegetables scarce ; when the rams
iroke, people drank foul water and ate too much rank green
stuff. The consumption of old and unwholesome juaii, which
lad been stored for years m pits, also caused a great deal of
sickness. Deaths from starvation were veiy few, and such
solated cases as there were, were found to be wandering
mmigrants from other Provinces. The birth-rate showed a
narked decrease from 40 per mille to 31, a natural
■esult of the disorganization of domestic life caused by the
•amine and of the impaired vitality of the poorer classes. At
:he beginning of the famine the sudden rise of prices caused a
panic and several small grain riots were committed with the
ibject of preventing the export of food grains and compelling
FAMINE.
283
naturally increased but the crime was not of a serious nature
and considering the circumstances of the year may be said to
have been surprisingly small.
276. The District showed remarkable recuperative poweis.
At the close of the measures for
Effects of the famine and f ^.mme relief it was found that the full
history of succeeding , , ,
years. normal area was under crop, that the
labouring classes were earning high
wages and that the public health was unusually good. In the
year after the famine it was difficult to detect signs of the
recent calamity. Two good years ensued followed by seven
of no more than moderate crops, in one of which (1907-08)
the harvest was not more than half the average, and detailed
enquiries into the desirability of suspensions of revenue were
necessitated. These enquiries showed that the loss of
half the crops could be borne without any remission and
without a serious inciease of indebtedness The high prices
obtained for cotton have brought a great deal of wealth into
the District, and it is improbable that a single bad year would
cause serious distress among the mass of the cultivators.
Labourers, forming the most numerous class even in this land of
small farmers, have gained immensely by the rise in the
rates of wages, more than compensating for the great deai-
ness of food, but they are not accustomed to save against the
chance of a failure of rams and consequent curtailment of
employment, and their position would be most serious in the
event of famine. The provision of fodder for cattle forms a
great difficulty m years of scanty rainfall, and this is accen-
tuated by the partial substitution of cotton foi juari which
has taken place. Cultivators realize this but are only in part
able to sacrifice the certainty of a good money return for their
cotton to provide against a mere possibility of failure of
fodder for their cattle.
277. The famine history of the Melghat, differing as it
does in every respect from the rest of
Famine m the Melghat. i-.-
1898 - 07 . District, requires a separate notice-
This tract is populated almost entirely
by the aboriginal Korkus and similar tribes, a people of the
pootest description, shy and diffident, living from hand to
mouth) with no resources and extremely averse to any Work
2^4
aMraoti district, famine.
except fitful labour m the forests. The prosperity of the tract
depends on three factors in the following order of importance ,
first, prosperity m Berar and consequently a good demand
for Melghat forest produce; secondly, a good crop of cereals
locally , and thirdly, a good season foi wild fruit. It is esti-
mated that one-fourth of the population live for a greater part
of the year on the profits of converting and selling timber and
other forest produce. At the close of the rains in 1896 the
distress m the plain taluks caused the demand foi timber to
fall considerably, and the Melghat exporters found their
income from this source reduced to one-fourth of the normal.
Moreover the local harvests m the Melghat had been bad for
three or four years previously, and in 1895 there had been a
partial failure of crops. In i8g6 the early cessation of the
rains produced a total failure of the crops on the light red
shallow soils, which form the bulk of the cultivated area ;
though the black soil area, which principally lies in one block
of eighty villages, is said to have given a 6 to 8 anna crop.
There was also a rapid rise m the prices of food-grams, which
by November 1896 were double the normal. Thus at the
closd of 1896 the Korku with no stock of grain to draw on
and with no maiket for his forest produce found himself face
to face with starvation. Small bands of them began to appear
m the plains seeking for work, a sure sign of distress.
Luckily the situation was realized by the Forest Department,
in whose hands the administration of the Melghat rested, and
in December 1896 measures were taken to cope with the
distress.
278. Large relief works were not considered suitable to
Relief works peculiai condition of the Melghat
with its scattered population and
defective water-supply. With a people too, who hate steady
work under supervision, it was felt that the application of the
strict letter of the Famine Code was Inexpedient. A free hand
was therefore given to tire Forest Department to modify the
Code to meet the requirements of the case. Small and
scattered works were opened , exact tasks were not laid down,
but the officers in charge by moral suasiort and patience tried
to exact a fair day’s work from the labourers ; wages in cash
were naid siltficie-nf- tn onnnnrr TVrti*1l-pr arid lild dortondonta
TAMINE.
285
and the workers were allowed to go away on Sundays to take
the savings or the equivalent in food to their dependents in
their villages. As there were no stocks of gram in the tract,
food for the workers had to be imported from the plains,
Banias were assisted by the payment of carriage from
Elhchpur and a small commission, and in return they
guaranteed an unfailing supply at the current rates prevailing
in Elhchpur weekly bazar. In anticipation of the rams, when
private traders fail. Government imported and stored large
quantities of gram and sold the same dm mg the lams at the
rates cm lent in the plains. Most of the relief works consisted
of road constiuction, but m addition wells were deepened, tanks
cleaned and roads repaired. The total amount spent was
Rs. 76,693 and for this sum 137 miles of forest cart roads,
6 miles of hauling roads and 2 miles of bridle roads were
completed. All the works were of permanent utility, and
the cost IS estimated to have been about 30 per cent, above
the normal. The highest number on the works was 4553 in
July 1897, and 578,986 units of work-people were relieved
at a cost of 2 annas i pie per unit relieved.
279. Actual relief in the home of the people was not
Gratuitous relief. attempted but villages were constantly
inspected with a view to the discovery
of the absolutely destitute. Their case was met by the
establishment of about 20 relief centres consisting of depots
at which food was given in the shape of uncooked gram.
The people cooked their own food and the majority occupied
huts on the spot. The average attendance of each centre was
about 200 Only those appearing quite incapable of work
were given doles.
280. The Forest Department encouraged the export of
Indirect relief forest produce by making liberal
concessions. The duty on headloads of
firewood was suspended ; the rates for small and inferior
timber, for bamboos and for charcoal were reduced, and
grazing fees were remitted except in 23 of the more
prosperous villages. Cheap grain shops were opened at
numerous centres, a system of tickets being adopted with a
maximum amount of daily sale to one person or family. Out
AMR^OTI DISTRICT. PAWmE,
of a land-revenue demand of Rs. 43,000 it was found ex*
pedient to remit Rs. 33,000.
381. Most valuable assistance was given by the Korku
„ , . and Centtal India Hill Mission, which
spent upwards of Rs. 50,000, while two
members of the Mission lost then lives through overwork
and exposure. The Roman Catholic Mission also did good
work. A.t the end of the famine m July 1897 a sum of
Rs. 53,574 was granted from the Indian Famine Charitable
Relief Fund and this sura was devoted to rehabilitating the
cultivator by gifts of seed gram and plough bullocks.
282. It IS probable that nearly 35 per cent, of the Melghat
General remarks. Population ivere being lelieved in one
way or anothei — either on works, or by
cheap grain shops, or in pool -houses and mission centres.
The condition of the people was very bad, and, but for the
strenuous efforts of the Foiest Department the mortality from
starvation would have been extremely high. As no mortality
returns are maintained m the Melghat it is impossible to say
what the death-rate was, but it is admitted that it was
high, especially among the old and the children. This was
partly due to the apathy and ignorance of a jungle people,
who had never seen famine relief m operation before.
Cholera of a virulent type was also prevalent for some time.
The Famine Commission recognised the success of the famine
operations and concluded that the mortality was probably
unavoidable , but they suggested that it might be possible to
achieve more success by stiengthening the village inspection
organization and by extending the system of gratuitous home
relief.
283. The harvest m 1897 was below normal in conse-
1899.1900 quence of the famine of 1896-97. In
1898 the area sown and outturn were
generally normal, but a portion of the tract was still suffering
from the effects of the famine. In 1899 the rainfall flora
June to September was only 19 inches or 33 per cent, of the
average, and the regular rams stopped at the end of July.
The result was a complete failure of the crops. The
aboriginal inhabitants were in even a worse position than in
1897, as the distress in the plain taluks was much severer,
FAMINE,
285?
Relief w
no field work was available and the sales of forest produce
practically ceased. In September 1899 relief measures were
sanctioned.
284. As in the previous famine small works distributed as
equally as possible over the tract were
the leading feature of the programme.
The works undertaken consisted of load-makmg and repair-
ing, the improvement of a few tanks and wells, and the
digging of fields to take the place of ploughing for which
bullocks were insufficient. When the rains drew near, the
people were sent to their homes either to cultivate or to
petty works. Cultivators were given gram doles while
cultivating their own fields, relief of this kind being given to
over 4000 families from seed-time to harvest. The grass-
cutting operations, which were started by the Conservator of
Forests in September 1899, also indirectly afforded consider-
able relief. These operations consisted of cutting and storing
grass at selected dep6ts for sale and at cattle camps, where
there was water, in and near the forests, to feed cattle in the
summer of 1900 when the grazing near water would be
exhausted. Grass was collected to the amount of 54,37,882
lbs. and stacked at 19 dep6ts in the Melghat. By this means
work for 2025 labourers was provided for 93 days.
285. Gratuitous relief took the form of grants of doles in
villages, relief in poor-houses, and
relief to dependents on works. The
dole was given in money. Village relief was at its maximum
m July igoo Three poor-houses were opened in December
1899 and the highest number using them was 1773 in July
1900 ; they were all in charge of European missionaries.
286. To stimulate the private export of timber, grass,
Indirect relief. bamboos, etc., every facility was given
in all the easily accessible forests and
rates for timber and bamboos were lowered. Out of a total
land-revenue demand of Rs. 34,495, the sum of Rs. 26,907
was suspended.
287. The Korku and Central India Hill Mission again
gave valuable help in men and money,
and spent nearly ijf lakhs on various
forms of relief, The Indian Charitable Relief Fund gave a
Gratuitous relief,
Private charity.
288
AMRAOTI DISTRICT. TAMINE,
munificent grant of Rs. 72,000; of this Rs. 8000 were spent
on the purchase of clothing and other necessaries, Rs. 5000
in providing for orphans and Rs. 59,000 m assisting culti-
vators with seed and plough bullocks,
288. The maximum number on relief at one time was
General remarks. I3i000 or 28 per cent, of the popula-
tion, the daily average number of
persons relieved was 7297 or 15 per cent of the population.
The mortality was not high and was certainly lower amon<r
children than in 1897. Emaciation was far less frequently
seen. The Famine Commission in their Report describe the
administration of relief in the Melghat as one of the success-
fill episodes of the famine They say that judged by the
ultimate test of lives saved the operations, though somewhat
costly, were successful, and they emphasize the importance
of providing suitable woik for aborigines and of employing in
the relief of them officials whom they can trust.
289. In spite of the liberal measures of relief adopted in
History of succeeding of distributing seed and cattle
years. many villages with poor soil and
defective water-supply were deserted,
and the revenue history of a considerable portion of the
Melghat may be said to start afresh fiom the years following
the famine. In view of the deterioration of the tract the
land revenue was reduced by half for three years (1902-1905).
This wise measure of relief has been amply justified, as the
subsequent history of the tract has been one of steady
progress and prosperity interrupted only by slight distress m
1907-08 when It was found necessary to suspend Rs 32,000
of the_ land-revenue demand. As already pointed out, the
Melghat population is only partially dependent upon its
crops for its well-being and famine will not as a lule follow
a failure of crops unless this is accompanied by a tallmg-
off m the demand for forest produce in the Berar plains.
CHAPTER VIII.
Land Revenue Administrahon
290. The aboriginal unit was in Beiar, as throughout India,
the village. Into the vexed question of
adminfs^tMtion^"“pie- village com-
Muhammadan pel iod munity it is not necessary to enter here,
complicated as that question is by the
difficulty of descnbing in terms of civilized thought the half
conscious reasonings or instincts of savages and in India by
the unreliable nature of the evidence. Of the diffciences
between the primitive Dravidian and the primitive Aryan
village, of the early growth of law and the subsequent growth
of a quasi-feudal society in India we really know absolutely
nothing. The latter process seems to have been at least
accelerated in Berar by the successive invasions, and their
resulting overlordships. The Indian village has in a ciystal-
lized form survived them all, and into the successive types of
rule its headman or patel has always been adopted as an
integral pai t. Whatever the group may have been that settled
the early village, whether a family or some still more formless
thing, and whether it enslaved or not the aboriginals whom it
may have found, certainly it had not attained to a conception
either of individual property or of property in land. Cultivation
was co-operative and the fruits were divided, each man
receiving according to tlie position he bore in the village or
the nature of his services to it. Thus the headman and other
magnates appropriated their shares and the servants weie
recompensed for their service. Thus also was tribute yielded
to the still greater chieftain under whose leadership they had
entered the land, or under whose dominion they had
fallen : a tribute which, becoming fixed by tradition at one-sixth
though frequently raised by unscrupulous rulers to a higher
propoition, has become the parent of modern land revenue and
incidentally of the supreme rights of the State in land. As
time passed the cumbrous process of sharing the harvest gave
way to the expedient of dividing the solh The tnore powerful
10
ago AMRAOTI DISTRICT. LAND REVENUE ADMINISTRATION,
members of the village body became land-holders and because
the chief village offices were connected with such holdings the
Muhammadan word watan has acquired its peculiar local
significance of heritable village office and dignity. A more
complicated society supervened and the need for records and
accounts produced the patwari. Further, in each village out of
those who were unable to attain the dignity of landownership,
there grew up a staff of artizans, menials and servants, who
became hereditary and served the villages, not for payment by
the job (such a thing was of course unknown), but for a
regular remuneration, paid in kind, chiefly as of old by a fixed
share m the harvest. This ancient village community is the
prototype of the modern Berar ryotwari village.
291. We possess no detailed information about the
earliest method of Moslem revenue
Early M^ubmnmadan management, but the policy seems to
1294 A. D.— 1596 A. D. have been to preserve the older village
institutions. The hei editary offices of
Deshmukh and Deshpandia are supposed by some writers
to owe their origin to this period, but it is a very doubtful
supposition. The Deshmukh was a head patel ot a circle of
villages and was responsible for apportioning and collecting
the land revenue, while the Deshpandia was a head patwari
or kdnungo, and kept the accounts. They were always Hindus,
the Deshmukh generally a Kunbi and the Deshpandia a
Brahman, and they may have been instituted by the
Muhammadans to conciliate a conquered people. An inter-
esting description of this period may be quoted from
Sir A. Lyall. ‘ If we take the centuries between 1300 and
‘ 1600 A.D. as the period (roughly stated) of independent
‘ Muhammadan dominion in the Dakhan, and compare it
‘ with the same breadth of time m Western Europe, the
‘ Dakhani government will not lose much by comparison.
‘ We shall be struck by resemblances more than by contrasts
‘ m all that concerns civil policy and the use made of their
‘ arbitrary power by princes and lords of the land. Long
‘ wasting wars, bloody feuds, revolts, massacies, assassinations,
‘ cruel and barbatous punishments, sad stories of the death
r.AND REVENUE ADMINISTRATION.
291
of kings — all these things fill the chronicles of Plantagenets
‘ and Valois as plentifully as the annals of the Bahmanis.
‘ Yet, as has often been said, although these descriptions now
‘staitle us into horror and astonishment, it may be guessed
‘ that life m those times was nioie tolerable than it appears to
‘ modern readers. A majority of the people took no share at
‘ all m the constant fighting, or in the perilous intrigues which
‘ were continually exploding in violent catastiophes that shook
‘ or overturned the throne , while another section of the people
‘ enjoyed the stirring hie and chances of rebellion, and staked
‘ then lives on the sport quite as readily as men now risk
‘ their limbs against a tiger. For Berar, it seems to have
‘ been always an agricultural countiy, situated off the high
‘road ot foieign armies, and distant from the capitals of
‘ royalty It suffered like other districts fiom inroads and
‘ internal disorders, but its battle-fields are comparatively
* not numeious. Then the settled Muhammadan government
‘ always attempted, in the interests of revenue, to protect the
‘ tillers of the land, keeping the collections as much as possible
‘ m their own hands, except when jagirs weie granted, and
‘ never formally abandoning the cultivator to the mercy of
‘ a feudal lord We may conjecture that the peasantry as a
‘ class were much above the mediaeval serls and villeins of
‘ Europe ; and altogether that they Were at least as well off
‘ under the BahmanI and Imad Shihi rulers as the commons
‘ of any outlying counties of England during the great wars of
‘ the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. Probably the peasants
‘ of France were worse off up to the end of the lytli century,
‘ Certainly the sTihah of Berar was in a high slate of
‘ cultivation, and yielded an ample revenue when Akbar
‘ annexed it , and the land must have prospered still more
‘ under the wise administration of Malik Ambar, of whom more
‘ hereafter. In those ages the whole Deccan swarmed with
‘ adventurers from every nation in Asia, and from the
‘ African coast of the Indian Ocean. These men and their
‘ descendants settled in the towns, their chiefs occupied most
‘ of the high military and civil offices , but, in BerSr at least,
‘ the Muhammadans appear to have left the Hindus in undis-
ig2 AMRAOTI DISTRICT. LAND REVENUE ADMINISTRATlOI^.
‘ turbed possession of the soil. And although the hereditary
‘ revenue authorities, the Deshmukhs and Deshpandias who
‘ were chief officers of districts with much influence and profit,
‘ are said to have been instituted by the early Muhammadan
‘ kings ; yet m Berar these places and perquisites have from
‘ tune immemorial been in the hands of Hindus ’
292. Berai was ceded to the Emperor Akbar m 1596 A.D.
and was one of the suhalis which came
1596^A^'to^l7af A D ™der the famous land revenue settle-
ment made by him and his Hindu
minister Todar Mai. The early Hindu system had been one
without any survey or measurement and without any records
to speak of. The Mughal rulers crystallized it into more busi-
ness-like permanence by measuring and recording villages,
parganas and say Lars with their revenue assessment. The fiist
beginning of a change from the mere levy of a share of gram
to a regularly assessed cash revenue may be traced to Akbar’s
settlement, and the cash rates were when possible fixed for a
period of years instead of being liable to annual alteration.
A more or less uniform system of revenue accounts was also
established. The settlement was fixed by measuring the
arable lands and making a careful estimate of their produce.
The unit of land for purposes of assessment was taken to be a
blgha — a term used to denote a piece of land measuring a
little more than two-thirds of an acre. Each bigha was rated
at the value of one-fourth the estimated produce, and the sum
total of the demand on a village or group of villages thus
calculated was termed its tankhwa or standard rent-roll , from
this rating were omitted lands which were barren or never
brought under cultivation. The average rate of assessment
per bigha of land was R. 1-4-0. Mr. Bullock, m his report on
North Berar for 1854-55, gives the following account of the
land assessment of this province under the Mughals. It is
probably taken from some old papers preserved among the
kanungo records, but these are usually copies, several times
repeated, of original documents. ‘I may as well mention
' that under the kings of Delhi, when the mode of assessment
' was under strict regulation, the valley of Berar was divided
I.A.ND REVENUE ADMINISTRATION.
293
‘into three mam descriptions of land, viz. Atniali, MimlalUs
‘and Kalaspatt. The aiiMk was the deep black soil. The
‘ nmnkalas was the soil where the black began to mingle with
‘ a lighter description. The halaspati was the light soil lying
‘ towards the hills. The black soil is towards the centre of the
‘valley. Each of these divisions had its general rate fixed
‘ upon each Ugha, but divided into various sorts with a rate on
‘ each, and these rates were only slightly modified by local
‘ circumstances. The Ugha of arable land was less than the
‘ Ugha now in use in Khandesh or elsewhere, which is 3600
‘ square yards, and the garden and inmn Ugha was larger, viz.
‘ the iuam land was measured by the IlaJn gaz, equal to 7225
‘squaie yards per Ugha. The garden land was measured by
‘ the hava Sikandan gaz which gave 5500^^ square yards per
‘ Ugha, and the arable land by the chhotd Stkandan gaz, which
‘ gave 2256 ^ square yards per Ugha. The average rates on
‘ land were as follows . — ist sort, divided into two sorts — ist
‘sort R. 1-3-9; 2nd sort R. 0-13-3 per Ugha", and sort,
‘subdivided into two sorts — ist sort, R. 1-1-3, and sort
‘ R. 0-12-3 Ugha; 3rd sort, subdivided into two sorts — ist
‘ sort R. 0-11-6, and 2nd sort R. 0-11-3 per Ugha. Garden
‘land in two kinds— ist sort Rs. 3-1 i-o, and sort Rs. a-4-o-
‘ The whole was under hham ivasul and the Annual Settlement
‘paper was as nearly as possible that which I have now
‘introduced, but with even moie exact detail. We can form
‘ some idea of the prosperity of the valley at that time, as the
‘ total revenue m the year quoted during the reign of Alamgir
‘ was Rs. 27,44,750-11-0, because the land was fully cultivated,
‘ and the population abundant and vigorous, instead of being
‘ scanty, ill- fed, and weakly, as they are now.’ The present
Amraoti Distiict comprised the greater part of the sarkav
Gawil of which the demand on account of land revenue
was 21 lakhs. Another important settlement in Berar was
made by Malik Ambar, a minister of the Nizam Shahi
Kings, who ruled in their name in the Deccan in the
seventeenth century. Although this settlement left a great
mark on the province, if the traditions of the people are to be
believed, the information about it is very meagre. It is probable
294 AMRAOII DISTRICT. LAND REVENUE ADMINISTRATION.
that his assessments varied with the crop and were not fixed like
the Mughal settlement , they were also lump assessments on the
village in some cases. Grant Duff states that when the assess-
ment was in kind it was |rds of the produce, and that where
there was a cash assessment, it equalled in value ^rd of the
produce. Malik Ambar is also credited with having settled the
land revenue upon a recognition of private property in the
land, whereas Akbar held that all land belonged to the
stale. Writing in 1870 Sii A. Lyall estimates that the levenue
raised in Berarin the 17th century was much larger than that
paid under the oiiginal settlements made aftei the cession and
that the cultivated area was not less. His conclusion as to the
view we ought to take of the histoiy of this peiiod is as
follows . — ‘ It IS a common mistake to suppose that the normal
‘ state of India was that in which rve English found the country
‘ when we conqueied most of it , whereas each province usually
‘ fell into our hands, like a 1 often pear, when it was at its
• worst, and because it was at its worst. The century that
‘ pieceded our rule may be regarded as a catastrophe in the
‘ history of India’s government — ^a dark age of misrule inter-
‘ posed between two periods of comparative, though unequal
‘light. We who are now clearing away rums, lepairing an
‘ utterly dilapidated levenue, may sometimes fancy that we aie
‘ raising a new and quite original edifice, when we are only
‘reconstructing upon the old foundation up to the level of
‘ earlier architects.’
293. The Maratha connection with Berar oiigmated with
the grant of cliauth and mdeshmukhl
Period of double Govern- by the Delhi Emperor in 1717 A.D.
thT an'd” Marathas pretended to keep regular
1730 A. D.— 1803 A D. accounts with the Nizam’s officers who
were never openly ejected from their
posts, as from a conquered country, though they weie often
entirely set aside for a time. Districts were called Do A mh,
that is, jointly administered ; and in all the revenue papers the
collections are divided, the Maratha share being usually sixty
per cent. Of this ten per cent, was called sardeshmikU
and the rest moBsa, which Seems in Berar to have been the ,
land revenue administration.
295
technical term that included m a lump sum all the Maialha
dues except the ten per cent, above mentioned. The moklisa
was thus made up, chauth, twenty-live per cent. , fatijddi'’s
allowance foi district administration, twenty-five per cent.
This period has been desciibed as one of barefaced plunder
and fleecing without attempt at principle or stability. When-
ever the Nizam appointed a collector the Mai athas appointed
another, and both claimed the levenue, while foragers from
each side exacted forced contributions so that the harassed
cultivator often threw up his land and helped to plunder his
neighbours.
294. In 1803 the Nizam was placed in sole possession by the
British Government and the administra-
Period of Nizam’s tion became even worse than before.
IS^sTssS^A.^. * The system was introduced of farming
out the land tevenue to contractors, who
adhered to no rates, but squeezed what they could out of the
ryot’s crop and his goods and chattels. Whole taluks and
parganas were let and sublet to speculators for sums far
above the ancient standard assessment Dm mg the ministry
of Raja Chanda Lai (1820-1840) the land revenue of
certain tracts was legularly put to auction at Hyderabad for
the highest bid. It is related of that famous minister that he
did not even lespecl these auction sales, as it was usual to do,
but disposed of the same contracts simultaneously to several
different buyers. Then came the opportunity of the pargana
officers ; he who secured them on his side kept the faun or
sometimes these officeis solved the complication equitably by
putting all purchasers on a roster, whereby each got
his turn at the collections. While this roster was known to be
full, even Raja Chandu Lai could not persuade a fresh set of
contractors to deal with him. There is a story told of one of
these contractors that he rode out of Hyderabad after the
auction with his face to the horse’s tad. His followers appro-
ached him and asked ‘ why this undignified position ? ’ ‘ I am
on the look-out,’ said he, ‘ for my successor to overtake me.’
Some of the great farraers-general deserve mention. One
Raja Bi&an Chand Who held the greater part of the
396 AMRAOTI DISTRICT. LAND REVENUE ADMINISTRATION,
Eerar valley in farm about 1831 left a name alike for
extortion and miserliness at which the Kuiibl still grows
pale , to pronounce it of a morning early is unlucky
Another by name Puian Mai, a mighty moneylendei of
Hyderabad, at one time got most of Berar m farm. In 1839
he was turned out of his districts by the Nizam’s minister,
under pressure from the British Resident. Puran Mai refused
to quit hold of his security for advance made, and showed fight
when his successors sent agents to take his place. However in
the end he had to give way ; but he presented to the Hyderabad
government an account showing a balance due to him of two
millions sterling, which the ministry altogether refused to pay,
proving by a different system of book-keeping, that POran Mai
was deeply in debt to the treasury. Puian Mai’s successors
were Messrs, Pestanji and Company, enterprising Parsi
merchants, who in 1841 received large assignments of revenue
m Berar for reimbuisement of advances to the State. But in
1845 were ordered to give up their Berar districts, and on
their refusal their collecting agency was attacked and sixteen
men killed. They were then forced to evacuate the assignments
with a claim of forty lakhs of rupees against the Nizam,
Messrs. Pestanji and Company had made large and liberal
advances to tenants in Berai ; they had thus restored cultivation
over wide tracts, and rekindled the lamp m many deserted
villages. Among Berar agriculturists they left a very good
reputation. One result of the farming system and the disorder
into which the country fell, was a great decrease in the revenue.
The net levenue collected about 1815-20 was not more than
half the sum which the province was estimated to yield in 1803,
and the land revenue of the present Amraoti District mentioned
in the treaty of 1853 was only 7 lakhs, a great fall from the 21
lakhs of Akbar's settlement. Under the farming system the
government had no means of checking false revenue returns
and the rough enquiries made by the British officials after the
cession shewed cultivation to be concealed to an incredible
extent. Thus in 1854 the Resident reported that whereas the
cultivated area inNoith Berar was recorded at 425,000 hlglias,
the naked eye detected by rapid survey of each village more
LAND REVENUE ADMINISTRATION. 297
than 1,700,000 The Government simply looked to the
revenue for which the contractor was answerable and did not
trouble about the extension or otherwise of cultnation, In
spite of this concealment of cultivation the ryots in 1853 were
found to be in a very depressed and impoverished state. This
was due, not so much to the severity of the assessment, for
that was not found to be too heavy, but to its shameful inequa-
lity. Deshmukhs, Brahmans, Rajputs and Musalmans were
paying an average of 7I annas a-hlgha, while the Maratha
Kunbi was paying as much as i rupee 14 annas a hlgha, The
mode of assessment was very arbitrary and seldom had any
reference to the capabilities of the soil. Thus it was found
that one man was paying 10 rupees for land of the same extent
and description as that for which another man was paying 100
rupees. When waste land was required by a cultivator it was
apportioned out by the patwan by guess work so that the
amount allotted to any individual depended partly on the ability
of the patwan to judge area, and partly on his good will
towards the cultivatoi.
295. The ordinary tenure from time immemorial had been
that which permitted a man to keep
Land tenure and the possession of his fields SO long as he paid
ofemirpnorto^isls, to government the customary rent.
Some such general principle of reciprocal
convenience must have always pievailed, so long as land was
more plentiful than cultivators. Malik Ambar (16x2 A.D.) is
stated to have recognised the ryot’s private pioperty in his land,
but such rights, if evei they were conferred, cannot long have
out-lasted the wear and tear of the disorders which followed his
death. We may suppose that where the tenants managed to
keep land for any long time in one family they acquired a sort
of property adverse to all except the government ; that where
the land changed often by the diverse accidents of an unsettled
age, m such cases occupancy never hardened into proprietary
right. Good land would have been carefully preserved, bad
land would be often thrown up; failure of ciops or the
exactions of farmers would sever many holdings ; and all
rights ceased with continpity of possession. When misgovern.
298 AMRAOTI DISTRICT*. LaI^D REVENUE ADMINISTRATIO>}.
ment became chronic, and the country was incessantly exposed
to be wasted by famine, war, or fiscal extortion, the tenant’s
hold on any one piece of land would be moie precarious and
ephemeral. But peihaps it may be said that m theory the
geneial basis and limit of pioperly in the land was cultivating
occupancy undisturbed, except by violence or injustice, so long
at the traditional standing rates of assessment weie paid upon
the fields taken up. It is easy to see that various rights and
preset iptions might, under favouring circumstances, arise out
of this soit of holding Seveial terms as mmisi, wundkan, etc ,
weie formerly known to distinguish the class of occupants in
Berar whose possession of their kind was long established and
by descent, but their precise privileges were never closely
defined. The essence of these holdings seems to have been
the privilege of paying a fixed sum without regaid to cultivated
area, and the light to trees. The pi opeity was also admitted
usually to be heritable and transferable Then certain advan-
tageous tenures were created by expedients used to revive
cultivation m deserted tracts , long leases weie given at a rent
mounting upwards veiy gradually year by year, or a whole
ruined village was made over by what is called pdlampai, a tenure
which fixes the rental of the entire estate without taking account
of the spread of cultivation. Whatever rights m the land may
have grown up previously, they all disappeared under the
Maratha and Nizam’s government. Under this legimc the
mass of cultivators held their fields on a yeatly lease which was
made out for them by the palel at the beginning of each
season ; the land was acknowledged to belong to the State, and
as a general rule no absolute right to hold any particular field,
except by yearly permission of the officials, was urged or
allowed. A man could not always give up or transfer his
holding without official authorization. Cultivators were ejected
from their holdings and others put in their places, as it suited
the caprice or interest of the farmer of the revenue. Under
such a system all value was wrung out of property in land.
The patels, Deshmukhs and Deshpandias who were employed
to manage the collection of land revenue m villages and
parganas nevot got beyond hereditary office nor transmuted
LAND REVENUE ADJtlNIS'TRATlON. 299
themselves into pioprietors of the land. The patel always
remained the agent between the State and the village tenants
for cultivation and collections. He was paid by rent-free land,
money-dues and dignities, the whole being grouped under the
term watan. The Deshmukhs and Deshpandias had risen
to great local importance under the Muhammadan dynasties.
They held by virtue of office the right to take certain dues
from the revenue collected m their subdivisions, but some of
the more powerful families received large grants of land in jagir
and patents for the collection of additional subsidies on condition
of military or police service and the maintenance of order.
Towards the decline of the Mughal power m Berar they
sometimes obtained their subdivisions in farm, and some of
them were probably fast developing into the status of the
talukdais and zamindars of Upper India. But the Nizam and
Marathas weie too powerful to let any subjects stand between
them and the full demand, and in 1853 it was decided that though
these officials had frequently, beside their money dues, large
quantities of indm or revenue-free land, and they themselves
advanced the most extravagant pietensioiis, their leal position
was that of hei editary officers and not that of landed
propnetois.
296. The Amraoti District when made over in 1833
resembled a squeezed orange, as the
^trot.on,‘‘'i 85 :tl 869 .‘^‘ Nizam’s talukdars in anticipation of
the cession had screwed up their demand
to the highest pitch and had even in some cases extorted collec-
tions in advance. The mistalic was at first made by the new
administration of attempting to collect these extraoidinary
rates, and in 1855-56 there were heavy irrecoverable balances,
and at the end of that season cultivation began rapidly to ,
contract — a sure sign of over-assessment. The mistake
was howevei soon corrected and the District entered upon
an era of prosperity from which it never looked back- 1 he
British officials in the period from 1853 to 1869, the first year of
the survey settlement in the Amraoti District, were occupied
in clearing up the confusion into which the land-revenue ■
administration had fallen and m feeling their way towards some
300 AMRAOTI DISTRICT. LAND REVENUE ADMINISTRATION,
better system. The services of the Deshmukhs and Desh-
pandias were dispensed with, pensions being granted to them
in perpetuity as compensation for the loss of then emoluments.'
The patel and tlie patwaii were letained. An annual
jamabandi was made by the Deputy Commissioner through
the medium of the patel and the account of each man's holding
was taken fiom the patwari’s papers. But without accurate
measurements no assessment could be satisfactory, as
the officials were working in the dark. The system was
fraught with the greatest inconvenience both to the Govern-
ment and to the people, besides being made a fruitful source
of peculation and corrupt practices. A five years’ settlement
was at one time ordered by the Government of India but the
information on record about it is very vague and it seems that
owing to the complete breakdown of the khasni survey by
patwaris that it was never brought to completion. The urgent
need of some scientific method of assessment was felt. The
question arose whether the malguzari system of Northern India
or the ryotwari system of Bombay should be adopted, Tho
former was in i86q sanctioned by the Government ot India,
but m i86i, in deference to the earnest protests of the local
officials,® these orders were cancelled and sanction was given to
» The amount disbursed under this head in the Amraoti District m
J 907-08 was Rs, 57,000.
^ Colonel Meadows Taylor was one of the local officials who was
most strenuous in his opposition to the introduction of the
malguzari system In his autobiography he writes of the ques-
tion as follows. ‘The Supreme Government had proposed to malie a
‘ settlement of my province on the same system as had been adopted in
‘ the North-Western Provinces, and I had to fight a very hard battle
‘ with the authorities to gam my point. I believe I was considered
‘ “most impracticable and obstinate" and inouired, I have little doubt,
‘ much ill will, but for that I care absolutely nothing I could not up-
‘ hold any system that I believed would be an injury and a wrong to my
‘ people, or become a party to a course which I considered was not
‘ only unjust and unpopular to the last degree, but which would abolish
' all those ancient hereditary tenures to which the people had clung
‘ with devoted pertinacity through all revolutions and vicissitudes for
‘ many centuiics, and which the old Musalman kings and rulers of the
‘ Deccan had continuously respected. My view of the tjuestion was very
‘ strenuously supported by my friend Bullock, Commissioner in Berar ,
‘ and In the end I rejoice to say that we so far prevailed as to enlist
‘the sympathies of our Chief Commissioner on our side, who
‘ earnestly protested against the system proposed from Bengal, and
‘ was successful in hig opposition, insomuch as the question was
‘ deferred for future consideration. In writing the “ Story ot my Life "
LAND REVENUE ADNilNISTRATlON. ^01
the introduction of the Bombay system which is described
below. The patels of Berai thus narrowly missed being pro-
moted to the position of malguzars or landlords, the fate which
befell their brethren in the Central Provinces In spite of the
absence of a proper system of settlement this early pciiod of
British rule was one of great prosper ity, and remissions of
revenue were almost unknown. Writing of it m 1870 Sir
Alfied Lyall remarks that ‘the land revenue increased and
‘multiplied With marvellous rapidity, under the combined
‘stimuh of good Goveinment, railways and the Manchester
‘ cotton famine. Cultivation spread over the land like a flood
‘tide’ and Sir R. Temple’s lemarks m 1867 are also deserving
of quotation. ‘The condition of Berar when the province
‘was assigned to British management, though weakly, and
‘needing restorative measuies, was not beyond the hope of
‘ speedy recovery. And fortunately the means of restoration
‘ were at hand ; for the soil was famed fat and wide among the
‘ peasantry for its fertility , and its repute, always high, was
‘further enhanced by the fact of so much of it having
‘ remained fallow of late years, a circumstance which was
‘supposed to ensure a rich return to those who reclaimed
' the waste and raised the first crops on virgin culture. The
‘ neighbouring districts were full of families who had emigrated
‘ thither from Berar, and who, with the usual attachment of the
‘people to their original patrimony, were anxious to return
‘ on any suitable opportunity. Thus hundreds of families and
* thousands of individuals immigrated back into Berar. Many
‘villages in the Nagpur country lost many of their hands in this
‘way, and were sometimes put to serious straits. Some
* apprehension was even caused to the Nagpur officials. But of
‘ I cannot pass this question over without notice, as it was a point on
‘ which, firmly believing myself to be m the right, F deliberately risked
* not only the good-will of the Government of India at that time but
‘ my own employment as Deputy Commissioner. I would never have
‘ agreed to carry out the unjust measure proposed in ignorance of local
' tenures by the Government of India, and my friend Bullock and myself
• were prepared to have resigned our appointments in ease stringent
‘ orders were issued on the subject , and there is no act of my public
‘ life which, to this day, gives me more pleasure and satisfaction than
‘ my successful resistance to the orders of Government to the settle^
‘ ment being made adeordiiig to the North-West systdm.*
502 Um-IOTI msTUICT, land UCVENUE ArsMINISTRATtON.
‘ course the natural course of things had its way, and Eastern
' Berar became replenished, This was only one mode out of
‘several, -which it would be tedious to detail, whereby the
‘ cultivation of Berar was restored and augmented.’
397. The basis 01 unit of assessment is the survey number
or plot of land of a size not less than
S®nlem!nrsys?em cultivable by a peasant with a pair of
bullocks. The arable land, whether
cultivated or waste but available for cultivation, is split up into
these numbers, the area of which is accuiately ascertained by
survey measurement. Each field is sepaiaiely measured by
means of the chain and cross staff, and in the field register there
IS a separate map of each field complete in itself The area of
the holding is obtained by simple arithmetic and the calcula-
tions are lecorded. This detailed field register obviates the
necessity of having the village map on a larger scale than 8
inches to the mile. The area of each survey number does not
exceed from 20 to 30 acres, and the minimum below which
survey numbers cannot be divided is 5 acres in the case ot dry
crop land, i acre in the case of iice land, and ^ acie in the
case of garden land The fields are marked off fiom
each other by a dhuva (a strip of land 4I feet in breadth)
being left uncultivated between them ; by mounds of earth
{wark) , 10 feet m length by 5 feet in breadth, and 3 feet in
height , and by stones {goto, khnn) between 2^ and 3 feet
m length sunk m the ground at certain angles. Besides the
culturable land the gaothm or village site is also suiveyed
and allotted, and land is reserved for free grazing and other
purposes The term pdrampok is used for numbers that are
unculturable by reason of having tombs, sites of wells, etc.,
on them, and the Bombay plan of allowing parts of numbers
to be deducted from the culturable area as bad bits (poikharab)
IS followed. The survey being done, the classification of the
soil begins. There are three classes of land, umrngated or
dry crop {jiratt) land, rice land and garden land (bagmt)
which is called motaslhal if iriigated by means of a well, and
pdtasthal if urigated by a channel For classification purposes
each field is divided temporarily into parts of some two
tAND REVENUE ADMINISTRATION.
3°3
acres each. Three tests to discover kind of soil, depth of soil
and fieedom from defects are made in each part. For the
first test soils are divided into three classes oi orders, which are
described briefly as black, red and white. The full description
is . ‘ First ordei — of a fine uniform texture, varying in colour
‘ from deep black to deep brown. Second order — of uniform
‘ but coaiser texture than the preceding and lighter in coloiu,
< which IS generally red. Third order— -of coarse, gravelly, or
'loose friable texture and colour varying from light brown
‘ to grey.’ For the second test, that ot depth, the soil is dug
up and a crowbar driven m until it is obstiucted by rock or
some hard substratum oi until it has gone in if cubits, that
IS, 3i| inches For the third test a list of eight defects has
been drawh up, the chief being the presence of fragments of
limestone or of excessive sand, slope, liability to flooding, excess
of moisture, and clayey soil. When a classification is being
made, the classer draws an outline of each field, marks the
parts into which it is temporarily divided and enters in each
part figures and symbols to show the results of each test. A
soil to be of standard quality, a sixteen anna soil, must be
black, of full depth, and free from all defects. Indeed, it may
have some special advantage, such as a beneficial flooding in
the rams, which raises it two or four annas more. For every
detail or combination of details in which a plot falls short of
standaid quality so many annas are deducted according to a
table which has been drawn up. Each field is finally valued
as a field of so many annas according to the average value
of the plots contained m it In the case of garden land it is
necessary m addition to examine the effect of the well or other
means of irrigation on the soil. Rice land is classified on a
scale of Its own. The full details thus obtained about each
field are entered in a prate or field book which is kept at the
headquarters of the District. These operations of measurement
and classification have nothing whatevei to do with the pitch
or amount of the assessment. They are only the methods
by which the assessment is distributed over the numerous
individual holdings of a ryotwan system. The basis of the
distribution of the assessment having being fixed, the next
^04 AMRAOTI DlSTRiCT. LANt) REVCNtJE ADtaNI STRATIOK.
step IS for the Settlement Officer to work out the rates of
assessment. These lates are determined in the following
manner. The area dealt with, which is the subdivision of a
District known as the taluk, is divided into groups homo-
geneous as to physical characteristics and economic advantage,
such as climate, laintall, general fertility of soil, communi-
cations and the like. For each of those groups uniform
maximum rates are fixed. These maximum rates are the
sums which would be leviable upon a field, the soil valuation
of which is sixteen annas. Thus if the maximum rate
be Rs. 3 per acre of a sixteen anna field, the assessment per
acre upon a field the valuation of which was eight annas
would be R. i-8 and so on. By applying the maximum
assessment rates to the soil valuation the rate pei acre on each
field IS arrived at. In an original settlement the difficulty is to
arrive at suitable maximum rates. This difficulty was solved
for Berar by taking the rates found in the neighbouring
District of Khandesh as a basis for the early settlements.
Special lates are imposed on rice and irrigated land. The
settlement is made for 30 years and at the end of that period
IS liable to revision.
398. The ordinary tenure is the ryotwari tenure, and all
Landteniue Paying revenue to government
under that system is known as khalsa,
land, The state is recognised as the superior landlord, and the
settlement is made directly with the cultivator himself and not
through middlemen. The assessment is on the land, not on
the person. Subject to certain restrictions, the occupant
is absolute proprietor of his holding, may sell, let or mort-
gage it, cultivate It or leave it waste, so long as he pays
the assessment, which may be revised on general principles
at the end of the fixed term. Being in arrears with the
assessment at once renders the right of occupancy liable to
forfeiture. No occupant is bound to hold his land more than
one year if he does not like it, and provided he gives notice
according to law, he is free to relinquish his holding, The
Occupant is free to malce any improvement he likes but he must
not apply the land to any other purpose than that for which it
LANt) R^VlikUli ADNfmiSTfiA^IOH,
30S
was granted without the permission of the Deputy Commis-
sionei. Government retains a right to all minerals in the soil.
Only one occupant is recorded as the hhatedar, to whom the
government looks as responsible primarily for the revenue.
Apart from this he is not necessarily a person with any rights
in the soil whatever. Mutation of names is not compulsory and
hence it often happens that a Ihdiedar, from motives perhaps of
sentiment, perhaps of sloth, prefers to keep his name on the
government register long after he has parted with the land.
This description requires to be qualified in the case of land
given out for cultivation since ist January 1905. From that
date all unalienated assessed land is disposed of subject to the
following additional condition, viz., neither the occupant, noi his
heirs, executors, administrators and approved assigns, shall at
any time lease, mortgage, sell, or otherwise encumber the said
occupancy or any portion thereof without the previous sanc-
tion in writing of the Deputy Commissioner.
299. The original settlements were made in the Amraoti,
. Daryapur and Moisi taluks in 1860,
Original Settlement.
1870 and 1871 by Major P. A. Elphin-
stone, that in Chandur in 1873 by Mr. R. R. Benyon, and
the rates came into force between 1871 and 1874. The settle-
ment dealt with 1493 Government or lhalsa villages, which
Avere divided into three groups in each of the Amraoti, Ellich-
pur and Daryapur taluks, and into foui groups in the Morsi
and Chandur taluks, the grouping being based upon proximity
to maikets, convenience of water-supply and similar consider-
ations. The maximum rates were based upon those adopted
in the taluks already settled in other Districts, and these
in their turn owed their origin to rates prevailing in the
neighbouring Bombay District of Khandesh. In the first
group the maximum rate per acre was fixed at Rs. 2-4 except
for the town of Amraoti, where it was Rs. a-8, and the taluk
of Chandur where with the exception of three villages on the
railway line it was R. 1-14. In the second and third gioups^
except in the Chandur taluk, the maximum rates were Rs, 3
and R. 1-2 respectively; in the Chandur taluk the rates for
these groups were R. i-io and R. 1-6 respectively. For
20
3o 6 AMRA.Ori DISTRICT. LAND REVENUE ADMINISTRATION
the fourth gioup in the Morsi and Chandur taluks the rates
were R. i-8 and R. 1-4 respectively Lower rates were
fixed for tlie Chandur taluk because of the existence there of a
large amount of waste land (223,415 acres). For land irriga-
ted by wells and watercourses a maximum late of Rs. 6 01 7
was fixed for villages in the first group and of Rs 3 or 4 for
villages in the remaining groups The average rate per acre in
the different taluks worked out as follows : —
Rs a. p.
Amraoti . , ... . 156
Elhchpur . i g 8
Daryapur 196
Morsi , 147
Chandur . . . . 0 13 10
There was an inciease of 32 per cent, in tlie land revenue
for the District as a whole, the highest increase being m the
Amraoti talulc where it was 51 per cent., and the lowest in
Ellichpur where it was 15 per cent. , the inci ease in the other
three taluks of Chandur, Daryapur and Morsi was lespectively
43, 37 and 24 per cent. In the instructions given to the
Settlement Officer great stress had been laid on the necessity
of light assessments and much of the increase of land revenue
was due to the discovery of large areas of concealed cultivation.
The settlement was made for a period of 30 years. The effect
of the settlement was that, in the words of Sir Alfred Lyall,
‘ The Berar cultivator passed from all the evils of rack-renting,
‘ personal insecurity and uncertain ownership of land to a safe
‘ property and a fixed assessment,’ and the same writer in
discussing the value and popularity of the settlement goes
on to say . ‘ Yet we should lemember that this contrast
‘between the two administrations, which cannot now fail
‘ to strike the generation which reraerabeis the Assignment of
‘ 18531 would not have much impressed the foregoing genera-
‘ tion if the country had been transferred thirty years earlier,
‘ The Berar cultivator is lucky in that he came under British
‘management at a time when our government had sown its
I wild oats, and reaped the fruits thereof , when we had drained
* the slough of fiscal blunders and blind carelessness In which
LAND REVENUE ADMINISTRATION. 307
‘ our Collectors had been floundering, and had placed them on
‘ the firm and fertile ground of method and moderation. It
‘ would be dangerous to assert that the agriculturist under the
‘ iigid, irresistible, unconscious maladministration of the early
‘ English school was even so well off as under the conscious
‘haphazard misrule of the Native government, which was kept
‘ elastic by the possibility of evasion or levolt. This rigid
‘ irresistibility is probably the prime cause of our mismanaging
‘ (as we constantly do) the land revenue of a new province
‘ dm mg the first years of our administration. Even in 1853,
‘ when the Nizam’s talukdars had in North Berar made over
‘ to us a squeezed orange, we began by attempting to collect
‘ the extraordinary rates to which the land revenue demand
< had been run up by our predecessors, whence it may be guessed
‘ that the agriculturists did not at once discover the blessings
‘ of British rule. On the other hand there are some reasons
‘ why cession to the British should have been more popular m
' Berar than it usually is found at first to be. Peaceful culti-
‘ vating communities, living at a dead level of humble equality
‘ under strong tax-collectors, got none of those compensations
‘ which indemnified the Rajput clansmen of Oudh for chronic
‘anarchy and complete public insecurity. Rough indepen-
‘ dence, the ups and downs of a stirring life, a skirmish over each
‘ revenue instalment, faction fights for land affording a good
‘working title to the suivivor— -all these consolations were
‘ unknown to the Berar Kunbl, nor would they have been
‘ his taste had they been within his power. He had as much
‘ land as he wanted without quarelling with anyone ; all that he
‘ desired was secure possession of the fruits of his labour, and
‘a certain State demand. The classes which lost by the
‘ assignment of Berar to British administrators were those who
‘ had hitherto made their profit out of native administiation—
‘the talukdars, the farmers of any kind of revenue, and the
‘ hereditary pargana officials.’
> 300. The original settlement gave what has been called
‘ free trade in land ’ and this combined
Revision Settlement, -\Vages prevalent attracted
ftomthe Central Provinces atfdftom Northern India a constant
3o8 amraoti district, land Revenue administration.
stream of immigrants. ‘ From the Central Provinces,’ wrote
Sir A. Lyall, ‘ came labourers and cultivators by thousands ,
‘ from North India came artizans and the classes which take
‘ service m the towns.’ The period of settlement was one of
steady prospeiity broken only by the famine of 1896-97
Revision settlement opeiations were started between 1896 and
1898. The settlement of Amraoti, Chandur, Morsi and
Ellichpur taluks was earned out by Mi. Francis, and that of
the Daryapur taluk by Major Gairett. The remeasurement
and le -classification were carried out on the partial system, only
6 villages in the Daryapur taluk being entirely remeasured.
The classification of soils of villages varying from 9 to 10 in
each ttluk was tested. The work of the original survey was
found to be satisfactory and was confirmed. The old system
of grouping was changed, each of the taluks of Daryapur,
Ellichpur and Amraoti constituting one group, and Morsi and
Chandur each being divided into two groups. In fixing the
maximum rates an enhancement ot revenue was held to be
justified on four grounds : —
(a) That communication had gieatly improved.
(b) That there weie general indications of sustained pros-
perity, as for instance a large increase in population, houses,
carts, wells and woiking cattle.
(c) That the culturable aiea was fully occupied and that
land was valuable, subrents of three times the Government
assessment being easily paid.
(d) That the first assessment had been easily paid.
The maximum dry ciop rates fixed varied from Rs. 2-12 in
Amraoti and Ellichpur to R. 1-12 in Chandur. Garden land
irrigated before the original settlement was assessed at the
maximum dry crop rate of tlie group in which it was situated.
Land irrigated from wells dug since the oiigmal settlement was
treated as dry crop land, and no extra assessment was levied
Land irrigated by channels from stream was assessed at a
combined water and soil rate of Rs. 8 and nee land was assessed
at a rate of Rs. 6. By the revised settlement the revenue
UND REVENUE ADMINISTRATION. 309
demand was raised by 35 per cent, in the Amraoti taluk, by
30 per cent, in the Ellichpur taluk, by 22 per cent, in the
Daiyapui taluk, by 25 per cent, in the Morsi taluk and by 52
per cent, in the Chandur taluk. The average incidence per
acre m the different taluks worked out as follows ;~
Rs. a. p,
Amraoti i 12 10
Ellichpur . . . 2 2 10
Daryapui 206
Morsi 1 II 4
Chandur ..142
In the case of 68 villages of the Amraoti taluk, 3 villages of
the Elhchpui taluk and the whole of the Chandur taluk, it was
decided to levy interim rates for 15 years and the full rates for
the remaining period of settlement. Owing to the famine of
1899-1900 the revised rates were not brought into force till
1903-1904 in the taluks of Amraoti, Ellichpur, Daryapur and
Moisi, and till 1904-05 in the Chandur taluk. Since their
introduction the new rates have been paid with, ease and no
remissions have been found necessary.
301. A considerable portion of the Melghat though nomi-
nally classed as forest, has a revenue
t'»to.yof.ts own bod. our.onsond.n-
teresting, and its classification as forest
has for a long time been misleading. At the time of the
cession in 1853 the whole of the Melghat was occupied either
by the persons known as the Melghat Rajas or by villages of
Korkus and other aboriginals, who practised dhya cultivation
and were constantly changing their village sites. Land
revenue was assessed on the yoke of oxen, though the
existence of Ugha rates in a number of villages (which have
remained unaltered to the present day) proves that some
advance had been made on this primitive system of assessment.
The tract was divided into 12 parganas and a nominal list of
853 villages was found m the records at the cession and was
maintained for a long time afterwards. What was represented
by these villages is not exactly clear, as they, were never
verified by the new administration, Piobably they never
310 AMRAOTt DISTRICT. LAND REVENUD ADMINISTRATION,
represented separate villages with fixed village sites and
definite areas; the habits of the KorkQs who were constantly
changing their habitation and adopting new village names
make it hardly conceivable that without demarcation of village
boundaries an authentic list of villages could be maintained.
The Melghat had its golden age, though unfortunately it had
no historian — ^for after the cession it was stated that within the
memory of men then living, its hills were thickly populated
and well cultivated and a proverb had been current that the
villages were within a peacock’s flight of each other and that
the sound of the drum was to be heard from village to village.
In 1860-61 Mr. James Mulheran was in charge of a topo-
graphical party which prepared maps for the whole tract on
the scale of one inch to the mile, and he wrote an interesting
report. The whole tract was still at that time under the
administiation of the revenue authorities and no alteration had
been made in the system carried on under the Nizam’s Govern-
ment. The area under cultivation was found by Mr. Mulheran
to be 97,280 acres and the land revenue did not exceed
Rs. 12,000. He compiled a list of 300 inhabited and 348
deserted villages but he did not vouch for the separate existence
of the latter. In 1866 the Forest Department was organized
and the demarcation of the reserves began in the same year.
The tract outside the reserves was known at first as the
unreserved forests, then as D class forest and finally as C III
forest, a name it still bears. The area of this tract, which
may now be called the revenue tract of the Melghat, has
gradually decreased with the growth of the reserves. It now
comprises an area of about 671 square miles and consists of
a broad belt lying south of the reserves and adjoining the
Berar plains, a small area on the east in the Katkumb pargana,
and the whole of the western portion of the Melghat. The
forest policy adopted with regard to this tract was to denude
it of all forest growth ; cutting, grazing and cultivation (subject
to the payment of certain dues) being permitted practically
without control. This policy was aptly described by an old
conservator as an * apres nm U deluge ’ policy, and though the
Forest Department between 1880 and 1906 drew an income
LAND REVENUE ADMINISTRATION. 311
of 23 laklis from' the tract, the work of destruction has
been so complete that the tract has been converted into a
wilderness, the only timber of any value being now confined to
the Bairagaih block. On the revenue side the administration
was conducted on paternal lines with a minimum of correspon-
dence and up till quite recently the administration might be
described as administiation by the patwari and the patel
tempered by the occasional inteiference of the Tahslldar,
Systematic lules regulating the condition of cultivation were
not framed till 1899, and if changes were fiom time to time
made in the yoke rates they were unrecorded. The whole
tract was surveyed by the Imperial Forest Survey Department
between 1883 and 1886, maps on a scale of 4 inches to the mile
in the more advanced parts and in the scale of 2 inches to the
mile in the more backward parts being prepared. These maps
were excellent but their chief value lay in the fact that they
removed the confusion caused by the old list of villages
referred to above , the separate villages of the C. Ill area were
demarcated and surveyed, and at last the revenue authorities
were in a position to know exactly what they were dealing
with. Some internal demarcation was also done but this was
rendeied valueless by the failure to carry out some form of
ryotwari settlement pari passu with the survey. The need of
some advance upon the primitive system of assessment by the
yoke rate had long been felt. Mr. W. B. Jones, the Commis-
sioner who visited the tract in 1879, described the revenue
system as so unsatisfactory that no change could be made for
the worse. ' It is a ryotwari system with many of the evils of
‘ other systems and few of its own advantages. The government
‘ though nominally dealing with the ryots, leaves them really
‘ unprotected and exacts its revenue from patels through alien
patwans, asking no further question. The patel is thus a
‘ malguzar with none of the advantages of the position, the
‘ cultivator a tenant of the state with few of the advantages of
‘ that position.' The project of a ryotwari settlement was not
raised again till 1892, and after some delay the revenue survey
was actually started in 1896. It was abandoned however the
se^me year for what now appear to be inadequate reasons.
312 AMR^OTl DISTRICT. LAND REVENUE ADMINISTRATION.
The fugitive nature of the Korku’s cultivation and the risk of
disturbing those aboriginals were continually put forward as
obstacles in the way of a settlement, and it was not realized
that in certain parts of the Melghat the cultivation was as
stable as in the Berar plains and that the existing system or
absence of system left the aboriginal without any protection
against the usurer and land grabber, who were gradually
ousting him from all the best land. The question of a
settlement was again raised in 1906 and a special officer was
deputed to report on the tract. He found that the fugitive
nature of the cultivation had been greatly exaggerated. Culti-
vation was permanent over a large area, a lien on fallows
being letamed and the idea of private property in land
had fully developed The yoke rate system in its primitive
form would hardly be said to exist and the needs of the trac-
had given birth to a bastard ryotwari system. The figure of
16 acres (which had been assumed merely for statistical
purposes to represent the amount of land cultivated by a single
yoke of oxen ) had been converted by the patwari into a stan-
dard of measurement. Although the land was held merely on
a yearly occupation tenure and every occupant was liable to
ejectment at 6 months notice, the land was being dealt with
exactly as if the occupier had the heritable transferable right
which exists in the rest of Berar. Land was being sold,
moitgaged and sublet to a great extent, and a considerable
area had been taken up by outside speculators, who were
waiting their chance to get it converted into a valuable
property by the effoits of the aboriginals who would become
their subtenants. In the centre of the Amner pargana the
aboriginal had been dispossessed of his land by the money
lender and the liquor sellei, principally Bohras and Kalars
from Burhanpur, and the land at the foot of the hills bordering
on the Berar plains was almost entirely in possession of Berar
cultivators. But elsewhere the older races still reigned supreme,
over 50 per cent, of the total occupied area being held by
Koikus and Gonds In 1906-07 there were 338 villages, 240
of which were inhabited and cultivated, 56 uninhabited but
cultivated and 42 both uninhabited and uncultivated. The
LAND REVENUE ADMINISTRATION. 3iq
cropped area was 166,376 acres, of which 25 per cent, was
under cotton, 14 per cent, under juari, 8 per cent, under wheat
and 4 per cent, under gram. The revenue work was done by
II patwaris who received as remuneration 5 per cent, on
collections as pay and 3 pei cent, as cJiilhr (wuting expenses).
The patels received 6 per cent, on the land revenue collec-
tions. There were 39 jaghas paid at the rate of Rs. 5 a
month and each village had its village servant — generally a
Balahi, Nihal or Korku — ^who was paid at the rate of i hm
of gram for each yoke of land. The special officer recommended
the introduction of a ryotwari settlement into the greatei part
of the tract, the doubtful portions being parts of the Bairagarh
and Dhulghat parganas where the conditions justifying the
retention of a yoke rate system, viz., shifting cultivation and
excessive unoccupied areas still to some extent existed.
Orders on the subject were issued in 1909. The Chief
Commissioner decided that any large blocks of unculturable
land in the tract should be demarcated and reserved as A class
forest, being managed with the aid of the usual forest staff,
with the objects of (1) securing a continuous supply of bamboos,
small timber, fodder, etc , and (2) protecting the forest on the
steep hill-sides in order to secure the continuance or improve-
ment of existing meteorological conditions. Small patches of
cultivation inside these extensive blocks would be abolished so
as to secure compactness. It was also decided that the great
majority of the villages were not worthy of regular settlement
which will probably be confined to the tract round Dharni
and the block of black soil m the Bairagarh pargana, together
with the best of the villages on the southern border.
302. A full account of the Melghat Rajas has been given
in the section on leading families.
SpeciaHeimres in the According to the returns for 1906-07
the total area of the jagir villages held
by the Melghat Rajas was 48,572 acres, which included 15,413
acres classed as unculturable, 26,982 acres fit for cultivation
but unocupied, and 6117 acres occupied with an assessment of
Rs. 3,605. The two villages leased to the jagirdar of Kalamgand
314 AMRAOTI DISTRICT. LAND REVENUE ADMINISTRATION,
contained 2016 acres of which 1,321 were classed as uncultur-
able, and 258 acres were occupied with an assessment of Rs. 1 13
of which Rs. 10, annas 4 weie paid to Government. There are
two imm villages, Kalamgana Khurd and Wazar. The former
has been referred to m the section on leading families; the
latter is held on behalf of the temple of Ganpati at Akot.
The area of the two villages was 2320 acres, in 1906-07,
of which 1050 acres weie occupied with an assessment of
Rs. 1481, the whole of which was enjoyed by the tnamdars
303. The ryotwari tenure already described is in force
throughout the District except the
Melghat. Out of 1640 villages in the
plain taluks, 1615 are settled on this
tenure, and are known as hhalsa villages. The area of these
villages in 1906-07 was returned as 1,968,467 acres, of this
37,668 acres were occupied by village sites, tanks, rivers and
the like, 162,061 acres by forests, 36,318 acres were set apart
for village purposes and for free-grazing, 7 acres were left in
the Chandur taluk as unculturable (payampok) land, and the
balance of 1,692,412 acres was available for cultivation. Of
the latter area 1,692,345 acies were occupied and only 67 acres
remained unoccupied The land revenue demand of the JMlsa
villages amounted to Rs. 28,02,724 in 1906-07 against
Rs. 27,69,144 m 1905-06.
304. Jagir now means any rent-free holding consisting
of an integral village or villages. The
Jagir tenure. , . ® ,
histoiy of the tenure is thus traced by
Sir Alfred Lyall — ‘ The jagli ' of Berar seems to have been
‘ originally always, like the earliest feuds, a mere assignment of
‘ revenue for military service and the maintenance of order by
‘ armed control of certain Distiicts. In latter times the grant
‘ was occasionally made to civil officers for the maintenance of
‘ due state and dignity. The interest of the stipendiary did not
‘ordinarily extend beyond his own life, and the jagir even
‘ determined at the pleasure of the sovereign or it was transfer-
‘red, on failure of service, to another person who undertook
' Berar Oazetteer 1870, page 101,
LAND REVENUE ADMINISTRATION, 3I5
'the conditions. But some of these grants when given to
‘ powerful families acquired an hereditary character. It would
'seem, nevertheless, that until recently these estates very
‘ seldom shook off the condition under which they were created.
‘ The assignments were withdrawn when the service ceased ;
‘ and they were considered a far inferior kind of property
‘ to that of hereditary office. Probably the double government
' of the Maiatha and the Nizam kept this tenure weak and
‘ precarious. The Nizam would have insisted on service from
‘ his jagirdars during his incessant wars. The Maratha treated
' the Mughal jagirdars very roughly, taking from them 60 per
‘cent, of all the revenue assigned, wherever such demand
‘ could be enforced. To plunder an enemy’s jagir was much
‘ the same as to sack his military chest — it disordered the army
‘ estimates. When this province was made over m 1853 to
‘ the British, some villages were under assignment to jagirdars
‘for the maintenance of troops, and these were guen up by
‘their holders. Up to that date, however, the system of
‘ tanlclma jagir or assignment for army payments by which
‘ whole parganas in Berar had been formerly held, had barely
‘survived. The irregularities of the old practice were noto-
‘rious. A few followers to enable the jSgirdar to collect
‘the revenue were sometimes the only armed force really
‘ maintained , no musters were held, and when troops were
‘ seriously called out the jagirdar made hasty levies or occa-
‘ sionally absconded altogether. There are still several personal
‘ jagirs without condition in Berar which have been confirmed
‘ to the holders as a heritable possession. But none of these
‘ were made hereditary by original grant, save only the estate
‘ given to pious or venerable persons — to saiyids, fahm, pmddas,
‘ and the like — and perhaps an estate which was first assigned
‘as an appanage to members of the reigning family. Othei
‘ jagIrs have been obtained by court interest, acquired by local
‘ officers during their tenure of power, or allotted to them for
‘ maintenance of due state and dignity, and such holdings were
‘ often continued afterwards as a sort of pension which slided
‘ into inheritance. Almost every jagir title was given by the
‘ Delhi Emperor or the Nizam, one or two by the Peshwa; but
314 AMRAOTI DISTRICT. LAND REVENUE ADMINISTRATION.
contained 2016 acres of which 1,521 were classed as uncultur-
able, and 258 acres were occupied with an assessment of Rs. 1 15
of which Rs. 10, annas 4 were paid to Government. There are
two inam villages, Kalamgana Khurd and Wazar. The former
has been lef erred to in the section on leading families; the
latter is held on behalf of the temple of Ganpati at Akot.
The area of the two villages was 2520 acres, in 1906-07,
of which 1050 acres were occupied with an assessment of
Rs. 1481, the whole of which was enjoyed by the inamdan.
303 The lyotwari tenure already described is m foice
throughout the District except the
Melghat. Out of 1640 villages m the
plain taluks, 1615 are settled on this
tenuie, and are known as l-hdha villages. The area of these
villages in 1906-07 was returned as 1,968,467 acres, of this
57,668 acres were occupied by village sites, tanks, rivers and
the like, 162,061 acres by forests, 56,318 acres were set apart
for village purposes and for fiee-grazing, 7 acres were left in
the Chandur taluk as uncufturable (pdrampoh) land, and the
balance of 1,692,412 acres was available for cultivation. Of
the latter area 1,692,345 acres were occupied and only 67 acres
remained unoccupied. The land revenue demand of the 1, hdlsa
villages amounted to Rs. 28,02,724 in 1906-07 against
Rs. 27,69,144 in 1905-06.
304. Jagir now means any rent-fiee holding consisting
of an integral village or villages. The
Jagir tenure. ,
history of the tenure is thus tiaced by
Sir Alfred Lyall — ‘The jagir ‘ of Beiar seems to have been
‘oiiginally always, like the earliest feuds, a mere assignment of
‘ revenue for military service and the maintenance of order by
‘ armed control of certain Districts In latter times the grant
‘ was occasionally made to civil officers for the maintenance of
‘ due stale and dignity. The interest of the stipendiary did not
‘ordinarily extend beyond his own life, and the jagir even
< determined at the pleasme of the sovereign or it was transfer-
‘red, on failure of service, to another person who undertook
‘ Berar Gazetteer 1870, page 101.
LAND REVENUE ADMINISTRATION. 315
‘the conditions. But some of these grants when given to
‘ powerful families acquired an hereditary character. It would
‘seem, nevertheless, that until recently these estates very
‘ seldom shook off the condition under which they were created.
‘ The assignments were withdrawn when the service ceased ;
‘ and they were considered a far inferior kind of pioperty
‘ to that of hereditary office. Probably the double government
‘of the Maratha and the Nizam kept this tenure weak and
‘ precaiious. The Nizam would have insisted on service from
‘ his jagirdars during his incessant wars. The Maratha treated
‘ the Mughal jagirdars very roughly, taking from them 60 per
‘cent, of all the revenue assigned, wherever such demand
‘ could be enforced. To plunder an enemy’s jagir was much
‘ the same as to sack his military chest — it disordered the army
‘ estimates. When this province was made over in 1853 to
‘ the British, some villages were under assignment to jagirdars
‘for the maintenance of troops, and these w'ere guen up by
‘their holders. Up to that date, however, the system of
‘ tanklma jagir or assignment for army payments by which
‘ whole parganas in Berar had been formerly held, had barely
‘suivived. The irregularities of the old practice were noto-
‘rious. A few followers to enable the jagirdar to collect
‘the revenue were sometimes the only armed force really
‘maintained; no musters were held, and when troops were
‘ seriously called out the jagirdar made hasty levies or occa-
‘ sionally absconded altogether. Thei e are still several personal
‘ jagirs without condition in Beiar which have been confirmed
‘ to the holders as a heritable possession. But none of these
‘ were made hereditary by original grant, save only the estate
‘ given to pious or venerable persons — to saiytds, fakirs, pirzadas,
‘ and the like — and perhaps an estate which was first assigned
‘as an appanage to members of the reigning family. Other
‘ jagirs have been obtained by court interest, acquired by local
‘ officers during their tenure of power, or allotted to them for
‘ maintenance of due state and dignity, and such holdings were
‘ often continued afterwards as a sort of pension which slided
‘ into inheritance, Almost every jagir title was given by the
‘ Delhi Emperor or the Nizam, one or two by the Peshwa ; but
AMRAOTl DISTRICT. LAND REVENUE ADMINISTRATION.
‘ not one full grant denves from the Bhonsla dynasty, which
‘never arrogated to itself that sovereign prerogative.' Aliena-
tion of jagirs by sale, mortgage or otherwise is prohibited
except in cases where the jagir on confirmation by the
British was converted into a freehold. Personal jagirs
are continued hereditarily subject to a legacy duty or
succession fees giaduated on a scale according to the
degree of relationship of the heir. Jagirs for leligious and
chaiitable objects' such as for the support of temples, mosques,
tdgiiks or other public buildings or institutions, or for service
therein are continued, so long as the buildings or institutions
are maintained in an efficient state, and the service performed
according to the conditions of the grant A jagIr for personal
maintenance may be divided by inheritance, though not in any
other way. But even its division by inheritance is strictly
limited to the direct heirs male of the body of the original
grantee. Adopted children and heirs through women are not
recognized. A jagir for service may not be subdivided without
forfeiture. The latter is a tenure in which the jagiidar is little
more than a trustee with a right to malre something for himself
from his trust, m the former he IS a propri etor The relations
between the jSgirdar and his tenants are governed by chapter
VII. of the Berar Land Revenue Code. Tenants are divided
into two classes, ante-jagir and post-jagir tenants. The former
are those who have held their land from a period prior to the
alienation and they are entitled to continue m possession
subject to the payment of the survey assessment. Post-jagir
tenants pay rent according to agreement ‘with the jagirdar.
The revenue courts have no cognizance over disputes
between jagirdars and their tenants The rights of the latter
are amply protected. When the court is called upon to
deteimine what shall be considered a reasonable rent, the
enhanced value of the property due to improvement effected
by the tenant is not allowed as a reason for enhancing rent.
In cases of ejectment also the court can order compensation to
be paid for the unexhausted improvements made by the tenant.
A notice of 6 months is necessary before a landlord can
‘ Such jagirs may be compared whh the mediieypl frankalnjQin.
^rJD REVENUE VDMINI&TRATION.
enhance the rent of a tenant and an annual tenancy cannot be
terminated by either party without 3 months notice.
The number of jagir villages in the plain taluks of the
District IS nineteen. The total area was 22,396 acres in
1906-07 of which 969 acres were included in village sites,
tanks, livers and the like and the balance of 21,427 acres
were occupied for cultivation. The land levenue of these
villages enjoyed by the jagirdars amounted to Rs 34,528, and
the quit-rent paid to Government was Rs 237.
305. The word palampat means a protecting lease, and
the palampat tenute originally was one
Palampat tenure. / / , . 1 ,1 1
under which whole villages were made
over at a fixed lental for a number of years, no account being
taken of the subsequent spread of cultivation. It thus
resembled the modern tzara system Many however of the
Berar pdlainpats ( and those in the Amraoti District are a
paiticularly striking instance) are well situated villages of
extremely fertile land, such as even in the worst of times must
always have tempted cultivation. It seems probable therefore
that this tenure lost its original meaning and that it became
more often than not an honorific grant for the support of personal
dignity. Six villages in the Daryapur taluk aie held on this
tenure by Deshmukh and Deshpandia families. The total
area of these villages is 8716 acres, of which 8445 acres are
occupied, and the revenue assessed is Rs. 17,126. Of this
Rs. 11,450 are enjoyed hy the palampatdars and the balance of
Rs. 5676 is paid to Government. The latter payment is fixed
for ever and is not liable to change at future settlements. The
older tenants in palampat villages are protected by the Berar
Land Revenue Code m the same way as in jagIr villages.
306. Under the head of iHam are classified plots of land in
, , , j khdUa villages held wholly and parti-
InuM land. r
ally rent-free. They are either service
or personal grants.' In 1907-08 the area so held was i8,.|89
* The word jagir la sometimes used for all personal grants and
Inam for all service grants ; but the defiUitiona given in the text are
the correct ones.
3i8 amraoti oiSxRidT. LArin revenue administration.
acres, the land revenue assigned was Rs. 31,349 and the quit
rent paid to Government was Rs. 3719.
307. When Berar came under British management in 1853,
a class of village servants known as
Cesses , ,, ,
navmars was found m existence. It
was the Jtanldar's duty to assist the patel m collecting the
revenue and in other village matters, and he also occasionally
acted as a chatthdiir, patrolling the village at night. It was no
part of his duty however to report crime. He was paid from a
fund known as the village expenses either in money or land,
receiving also contributions of gram from the villagers.
After the cession the havddar was commuted into a police
chaitktdar, but it was found that the patel needed help and that
the village required a recognised servant for watch and ward
and other services. It was decided to unite the various offices
m one man, where one man was capable of performing them,
and the new official was termed jagha. A cess of one anna in
the rupee of land revenue was sanctioned in 1866 and was
known as the jSglia cess. The practice grew up of spending
the surplus of the jaglia cess on public improvements, and to
mark this fact the designation of the cess was changed in 1880
to the “Jaglia and Local Cess.” In 1867 a school cess was
imposed at the rate of i per cent, on the land revenue, but the
system of calculating this percentage was not uniform and
great confusion resulted. In 1879 it was changed to 3 pies in
the rupee, and in 1880 it was amalgamated with the Jagha and
Local Cess. The combined cesses are now being recovered in
khdlsa or unalienated villages at the rate of 15 pies per rupee
of the assessment of each survey number, and at 2 per cent, of
the total of the assessments of all the survey numbers in jagir
villages. The piopnetors of jagir villages can make their own
arrangement for the maintenance of jaglias, but if the Deputy
Commissioner considers these inadequate, he may levy an
additional cess at the rate of one anna in the rupee on the total
of the assessments of all the survey numbers. The surplus of
the jaglia and local cess, after the expenses of the jaglia cess
have been defrayed, is handed over to the District Board,
yhe surplus so banded over m 1907-08 was Rs. 6s,ooe, while
LAND REVENUE ADMINISTRATION}. 3I9
Rs. 1,11)450 were spent on the jaglia force. The school cess
produces about Rs. 44,000. In 1856 a road cess was imposed
at the rate of one per cent, of the land revenue, but owing to a
mistake of the Settlement Department, effect was not given to
the intentions of Government, and, instead of a cess being
levied, this percentage of the land revenue was set aside in
each District for the maintenance of roads. The road cess in
jagir villages produces Rs. 518.
CHAPTER IX.
GENERAL ADMINISTRATION.
308. Amraoti is the headquarters of the Commissioner,
Berar Division , also of the Conservator of
tSiSmTsalute Berar Circle, the Inspector of
Schools, the Chaplain of Berar and other
Divisional officers. In some Departments, notably the
Judicial, the Public Works and the Post Office, the Province
is divided into two parts, East and West, having headquarters
at Amraoti and Alcola respectively. Previous to the
amalgamation with the Central Provinces in 1903, Amraoti
contained in addition to the present staff a Judicial
Commissioner, a Sanitary Commissioner, and Inspectors-
General of Police, and Excise, etc., but these appoint-
ments have now been merged in the Central Provinces cadre.
The Hyderabad Assigned Districts (to use the old name)
are, however, still foreign territory, not a part of British India,
though held on a lease in perpetuity. Legislation for Berai
IS still carried on by orders of the Executive Council ; and
Acts of Parliament and of the Indian Legislatuie have no
force in the Province unless applied to it by special
notification. His Highness the Nizam receives a yearly rent
of twenty-five lakhs of rupees ; and his sovereignty is solemnly
recognised every year on his birthday, his salute of twenty-
one guns being fired at Amraoti and his flag flown from
sunrise to sunset.
309. The head of the District is the Deputy Commissioner,
Staff District Magistrate. He is
assisted by a Subdivisional Officer and
Magistrate at Elhchpur, and at headquarters by three assis-
tants, usually members of the Provincial Service. Amraoti
has also for several years past been a training ground for a
newly joined member of the Indian Civil Service, and there
is now an Extra Assistant Commissioner for Excise. One of
GENERAL ADMINISTRATION.
32:
the three ordinary Extra Assistants is Treasury Officer, and
the post of District Registrar is also held by an Assistant. The
Treasury banks with the local branch of the Bank of Bombay
for currency, but there is a very large stamp store under the
direct control of the Treasury officer. The subdivisional
system has been introduced and the six taluks are at present
arranged as follows :
(r?) Amraoti Subdivision (headquarters Amraoti) Amraoti,
{h) Chandur Subdivision (headquarters Amraoti), Chandur,
Morsi,
(c) Ellichpur Subdivision (headquarters Ellichpur) Elhchpur,
Daryapur, Melghat,
Previous to the ist September 1905 the Murtizapur taluk
now joined to Akola was part of Amraoti, and the
Ellichpur Subdivision was a separate District. Each
taluk is under a Tahsildar aided by a Naib Tahsildar.
The former, in addition to his revenue powers, is a and
or 3rd class magistrate and sub-treasury officer, and a
few of the latter have been invested with 3rd class magisterial
powers.
There is an Honorary Magistrate of the 2nd class at
Daryapur, and benches (3rd class) at
Amraoti city, Kholapur, (Amraoti taluk),
Ellichpur city and Chandur Bazar, (Ellichpur taluk),
Dhamangaon, (Chandur taluk),
Warud, (Morsi taluk),
Anjangaon Surji, (Daryapur taluk).
Two members of the Ellichpur bench have 2nd class powers ;
and when they sit the court has second class jurisdiction. The
District Superintendent of Police has an Assistant and a
Deputy Superintendent at headquarters ; and either an
Assistant or a Deputy Superintendent at Ellichpur. The
District and Sessions Judge, and the additional District and
Sessions Judge have jurisdiction also in the adjoining District
of Yeotmal. There are 4 Subordinate Judges at Amraoti, one
of whom has charge of the Smalt Cause Court, and one each
at Elliphpur, Daryapur, and Morsi. There are also Mtinsiffs’ '
21
322 AMRAOTI DISTRICT. GENERAL ADMINISTRATION,
courts at these three places as well as in Amraoti. The
District comprises two forest divisions, Melghat (with head-
quarters at Chikalda,) and Amraoti, There is a Civil Surgeon
of the Indian Medical Service with Assistant Surgeons at
Amraoti and Ellichpur ; and the Executive Engineer, East
Berar Division, has his headquarters at Amraoti with Sub-
divisional officers at Amraoti, Ellichpur and Murtizapur, the
last-named having the Daryapur taluk in his charge Thera
are Deputy Educational Inspectors at Amraoti and
Ellichpur.
310. The unit of government m Berar is the ryotwari
village, the representative of which in all its
dealings with the various departments is the
patel. ‘ He represents,’ says Sir Frederic
Lely, ‘ both government to the people and the people to
government. If he loses his influence, both suffer.' He is
a viaiandar, or hereditary officer, and his chief business is to
collect the land revenue of his village and to take it to the
tahsll where he is remunerated by a percentage. He also
collects and is similarly remunerated for all other Government
and District Board dues, including income tax from any
villagers who may be liable to it, and the revenue arising from
forest lands if there be any in his village. It is incumbent on
him to report to the Tahslldar any discontent or ill-feeling of
which he may have knowledge, to control the village watch,
and in general to assist the police in the detection and preven-
tion of crime. His varied duties also include the maintenance
of the fair-weather roads and of village sanitation and statistics
of births and deaths. He is bound to report an outbreak of
plague or other epidemic, to help travellers in distress, and
to render information or assistance to any officer who may
require it. Thus patels were recently, in the interests of
plague prevention, instructed to make a census of cats in
their villages. The great majority of these officers are
Marathas or Kunbis, though there are also Mails and
members of other cultivating castes, and a few Musalmans.
Their appointment, duties and control are regulated by the
Berar Patels and Patwaris Law and the rules thereunder ; and
GENERAL ADMINISTRATION. 323
in all large villages there are two patels, one for revenue and
one for police duties. They are generally among the leading
landholders, and the office, the waian or right to which is
sometimes confined to a single family {khel) and sometimes
shared by several, carries with it the manpcut or right of
precedence in the village with sundry presents of a
ceremonial nature on marriages and festivals. The office is
highly valued, not only for its allowances, but for the honours
which attach to it and for the power which it gives the
holder m his village, a power which as a general rule is well
used It carries with it under orders of the Government
of India an official {not personal) exemption under the Arms
Act. Both patels and patwans have an authorised uniform
as officers of Government, an angarkha or long coat, for the
former of black, and for patwaris of red.
31 r. The patwans* are appointed under the same law
and rules as the patels. They are village
Staff accountants and writers, expected to
maintain the various village records in
accordance with the model set forth m the Berar PatuSn’s
Manual. They are almost always Deshastha Brahmans, and
except in the Melghat and at a few places in the other taluks
are watanddrs. Like the patels, to whom they are loosely
subordinate, they are paid by percentages laid down in the
rules already referred to. There is ordinarily one patwiiii for
each village, though charges of even four or more are not
unknown. In this case, if the number of villages or their
distance from the one in which he is expected to reside
render the work beyond the powers of one man, the watanddr
may work through subordinates appointed by the Deputy
Commissioner or Subdivisional Officer, Few of the
patwans are at present trained in survey, but a class has
recently been established at headquarters and is now attended
by them periodically. In the few villages where patwari
waians do not exist, appointments are made without regard
1 Also known as pandyas, a title which should b? carefully
distinguished from pdndewdt', v, iflfra,
324 AMR^OTI DISTRICT, GENERAL ADMINISTRATION.
to claims of inheritance ; but the method of appointment,
remuneration and duties are the same In the Melghat taluk
there are patwaris only in the C— 111 forest area. Of these
there are eleven paid by percentages and having each a
circle of thirty to forty villages in his charge ; their offices
are not hereditary and there is no Circle Inspector. The
disafforestation and settlement of this tract are m progress,
and a levision of the patwari system will probably take
place. The work of patwans is primarily supervised by
Circle Inspectors ; a District Inspector of Land Records
with an Assistant is attached to the Deputy Commissioner’s
office. Previously the work was done by Munsaiiiits, who,
however, differed from Circle Inspectors in being merely
assistants of the Tahsildars. There are now four Circle
Inspectors each in the Amraoti, Chandur and Morsi taluks
and three each m Ellichpur and Daryapur ; one Circle
Inspector has on an average about thirty-nine patwans
to supervise. The duties of the Land Records Staff are
contained in the rules framed under section 17 of the Berar
Land Revenue Code.
312. The Judge of the Small Cause Court was formerly
. District Registrar, but the office is
Registration. , ^
now held by one of the Deputy
Commissionei’s Assistants. Partly owing to the ryotiiari
tenure of Berar, and partly to the very high value of
land m the District, the business of registration is veiy
much larger than in any other District m these Provinces,
though in the Melghat taluk, especially since the commence-
ment of the settlement, it is almost a negligible quantity
for in that tract the holder of land has no right to alienate.
There are sixteen sub-registrars with offices at the following
places —
Amfaoti taluh, Daryapur tdlnl, Morsi tdliik^
Amraoti city, Daryapur, Morsi,
Kholapur, Anjangaon Surji, Warfld,
Takerkhed,
GEr}Eft4L ADMINISTRATION,
32s
Chandur tdluL,
Chandur Railway,
Dhamangaon,
Kurha,
Nandgaon Kazi,
Tiosa,
EUichpur taliil,
Ellichpur city,
Chandur Bazar,
Assegaon,
Melghdt taluL,
Chikalda.
Of these all except the two last are special salaried sub-
registrars. The Assegaon office is held by a ruial Sub-
registrar, and that at Chikalda is in charge of the Tahsildar
ex-officio. Towards the end of 1906 two sub offices, Khallar
and Ritpur, were abolished. In the year 1896-97, m the area
now included in the Amraoti District and Murtizapur taluk
14,373 documents, value (so far as stated) Es. 47,79,592, were
registered, the income was Rs. 38,136 and the expenditure
Rs. 16,124. The figures for the present District in 1907 were
10,339 documents value Rs. 72,10,112, Rs. 39,459 income
and Rs. 12,573 expenditure.
313. The District cannot be said to be a temperate one, the
average consumption of the various
excisable articles, except gauja, being
among the highest in the Provinces. A belief m the
efficacy of opium as a protection against ague and fever is
prevalent among the Kunbis, and it is therefore very
largely consumed except in the Melghat, where the sales
are almost m/, for the population, being Korkus, prefer a
more exhilarating febrifuge. Both there and m the other
taluks the liquor traffic is excessive, and the excise revenue
for 1906-07 surpassed that of any other District. Owing to
the alteration of the District a comparison with previous years
has become difficult, but in that year the excise licences and
revenue were as follows •
326 AMRAOTI DISTRICT, GEIJERAL ADkiNISTRATIOM.
Description, j
No.
of
Shops.
I.iccnse tees.
Duty.
Total revenue.
Foreign liquor,.
g
Rs. a p,
987 0 0
Rs. a, p.
3,390 0 0
Rs a p,
4,577 0 0
Country liquor..
243
4,35,465 15 10
4,25,701 5 6
8,61,167 5 4
15,454 0 0
Stndl ..
217
15,454 0 0
Gditja, etc.
104
26,005 4 0
18,409 " 0 3
44,414 4 3
Opium „
50
85,727 14 0
(including
duty on
bhang). \
1,48,031 3 0
2,33,759 1 0
Total ..
j 623
Total excise revenue . » .j
11,59,371 10 7
The Madras Contract Distillery System is m force, having
been introduced on ist April 1899. The liquor, which is
invariably that distilled from mahua, is supplied from the
distilleries at Akola and Ellichpur to the warehouses. Of
these there is one for each taluk, that for the Melghat being
at Dharni and the others at taluk headquarters. The distillers
pay a fee of Rs. 100 per annum to Government for each
distillery , and the retail vendors buy at the Dep6ts, paying
the price of liquor to the distillers, and Government
dutj. There is a Distilleiy Inspector in charge of the
Ellichpur distillery and sixteen Sub-Inspectors, one at each
of the six warehouses and the remainder on inspection
circles. These are under the Excise Extra Assistant
Commissioner already mentioned. The distillers (Messrs.
Umrigar) also make their own arrangements at distillery
and warehouses. Annual auction sales of the liquor contracts
have in the past been characterised by internecine competition
due to local jealousies of competitors ; and the excise revenue
has thus been increased much beyond its natural limits.
Recent temperance agitation, however, and years of high
rates, tend and will tend to make bidders more cautious and
to reduce the sales to figures more nearly representing the
actual value of the contracts ; and consequently to curtail
the revenue. But the present liquor contract system is a
popular one and the scale of shbps appears to supply a real
GENERAL ADMINISTRATION- 327
demand. Cases of smuggling are very rare. The Central
Provinces rules are now in force with regard to opium and
ganja which are therefore imported from Ghazipur and
Khandwa respectively; but until 1906 Malwa and Indore
opiums were sold. Previous to 1898 ganja was grown
locally and at the date of the Berar Gazetteer 1870, opium
was largely cultivated round Badnera, The smdi or iaii
traffic (the names are used indifferently, though the former
is the correct one) is small. As in the case of other excisable
articles, licenses for retail vend are disposed of by annual
auction : but the licensees are left to make their own arrange-
ments with the owners of the trees. Trees growing in
A and B class forest cannot be tapped without the consent of
the Conservator, and a fee is charged : but those in C class
and other Government waste land may be freely used. It is
now proposed to introduce a tree tax. Smdi trees are not
common except in a few parts of the District. The following
table gives statistics of consumption : —
Description,
Area in square
miles per shop
Population
per shop.
Consumption per
10,000 persons
per annum.
Liquor
196
3 331
I706'5 proof gals,
Smdl
21 9
3,730 I
Opium
45 7 1
7,784
79 9 seers.
Ganja ... |
95
161,90
33-4 seers.
314. The District Superintendent of Police has under his
orders, besides the Gazetted Officers
Police. already mentioned, one European
Reserve Inspector and one Sergeant, one
Court Inspector, a City Inspector for Amraoti Town and Camp,
and a Circle Inspector for each of the five talulrs of the plains,
Melghat, where the work is light, forming part of the Ellichpur
circle. Previous to ist October 1 907 the force under these
consisted of 822 head-constables and men, with 36 Sub-
Inspectors, or Chief constables. On that day one Station-house,
Badnera Railway, with a Sub-Inspector and 30 men, was trans-
ferred to the Superintendent of Railway Police, and various
changes including the abolition of beat duties, have followed. At
328 amr\oii district, gendr'vl Administration.
present there are 37 Sub- Inspectors and 115 head-constables
and 630 men, this total being distributed besides the Reserve
among twenty-seven first-class Station-houses, each under one
or more Sub-Inspectors The location of these and of three
smaller units known as “ Road Posts ” is as follows
A mmoii civcle and city,
Amraoti town,
Takerkhed,
Kholapur,
Badnera,
Mahuli,
Loni (near Badnera),
Balgaon {Road Post),
Elluhpur and Mefglmt cncle.
Ellichpur,
Chandur Bazar,
Shirasgaon Kasba,
Pathrot,
Assegaon,
Chikalda,
Dharni,
Ghatang {Road Post),
Bairagarh {Road Post),
Chdnduv ctnU
Chandur Railway,
Nandgaon Kazi,
Talegaon Dashasar,
Kurha,
Teosa,
Dattapur,
Moi'st Click,
Morsi,
Sirkhed,
Warud,
Benoda,
Darydpur circle.
Daryapur,
Anjangaon,
Rahimapur,
Khallar.
The total cost of the police in 1907 was Rs. 1,53,928
and the propor'ion was one to every 6 square miles
and 1,023 persons. The men are mostly Pardesis, or
inhabitants of the Upper, particularly the United Provinces,
though the term, which means “foreign,” includes in
Berar men from the other Divisions of the Central
Provinces. There is no noticeable predominance of any one
caste. Brahmans, Rajputs, Chhatrls and Muhammadans being
equally common. They are as a rule recruited in the District,
whither they come in search of a living ; but the wages of
labour being locally high, it is often found difficult to obtaid
sufficient men ; and drafts had recently to be brought in from
Jubbulpore and Nimar to complete the strength. The men
are armed with smooth bore muskets, and the old pattern
bayonet, but there is a Specieil Reserve 25 strong who carry
GE^feRAL AbMlt^ISTRAflON.
529
the Martim-Henry Rifle and the sword bayonet. A small
band has been started with the object of smartening the drill
in the Reserve.
315. Among the twenty -two Districts of the Provinces,
Amraoti is surpassed only by Nagpur
Cnme. in the amount of work dealt with by the
courts, showing 5504 persons accused
during the year 1907 as against 7991 of the latter,
while m the volume of important crime it is unsurpassed even
by Nagpur. Perhaps the most interesting figures in that year’s
report are those giving the number of cases compounded (2001,
a total only surpassed by Nagpur and Akola) ; and those for
the numbers proceeded against under the security sections of
the Criminal Procedure Code, no less than 256 persons
having either furnished such security or been sent to jail
in default of it. This total, which is only sixty less than that
for the whole of the Central Provinces, is no doubt abnormal.
There was a large influx of nomadic criminal tribes from
Hyderabad and elsewhere during the year. Many such
tribes,' however, are indigenous to Berar, and the wealth of
its peaceable inhabitants must always prove a tempting bait.
It is probable, therefore, that such action will remain frequent.
Of more specific charges, cases of dacoity, cattle-theft, and
house-breaking fluctuate much in numbers with the state
of the season. The high value of land and the lack of
a record of rights, such as exists in other Provinces, combine
to make both preventive and punitive action against rioting
and similar agricultural offences extremely frequent. The
Melghat, despite its enormous yearly drink bill, is a peaceful
area, providing but little occupation for either criminal or
civil courts.
316. The village watch and ward is in the hands of jaglias
„ and mahars. The former, known also
Village Servants. ,
A.- Jaglias. and perhaps more commonly as
havildars or chaukidars, are a force
' No less than thirteen different thieves’ jargons dre hnOWn to be Id
common use among criminal tribes in Berar.
330 AMRAOTI DISTRICT. GENERAL ADMINISTRATION.
appointed by Government, the ‘village police’ of older records ;
and the chaukidaii is probably the only post in the village
which IS not hereditary. Their numbers vary from village to
village according to a scale laid down in Rule 413 Berar Land
Revenue Manual : they are appointed by the palel, subject to
confirmation by the Tahsildar . and they are paid quarterly at
a rate which varies at present between Rs. 3-2-8 and Rs. 5 pei
mensem, and may be determined from time to time by the
Chief Commissioner. Their principal duty, it is laid down, is
the maintenance of the peace in their villages : but they are
also in practice the patel’s chuprassis and servants in the
multitude of different duties he is called upon to perfoim.
They are under his orders in collecting the revenue ; they
attend on him at the clmmi and when he conies to
headquarters or goes to meet an officer arriving in his village :
they carry District officers’ post and purvey their supplies
when on tour. The uniform supplied to them— a belt and
badge, blue pagi I and coat edged with yellow— bears a distant
resemblance to a police constable’s • and a jaglia vain of his
personal appearance will sometimes try to heighten the
likeness by adding breeches and gaiters of the same colour.
317. The jaglia is the servant of;the patel ; the mahar is,
through the patel, the hereditary ser-
B.— The Mahar. Qf (.|jq village. The former
IS an orderly, the latter a menial, the one
IS usually an impecunious member of one of the higher castes in
his village — a Kunbi or a Musalman : the other belongs to the
outcaste race known as Dheds : the very name mahar, indeed,
is strictly that of the caste, and the village servants should be
distinguished as the kamdar mahars or pmdewdrs from other
Mahar families who may happen to reside there. Their
duties are to be found enumerated m Rule 437 of the Land
Revenue Manual ; and include not only all those to which the
jaglia is liable but the less honourable duties as well. They
are the village scavengers : they remove dead cattle from the
houses ; repair fair weather roads and are supposed to keep
dean the public buildings of the village, the chdwri, musdfiy^
dENliRAL ADMINISTRATIOti.
33 '
khlna, and so forth. They are the village undertakers and
renaove corpses under the orders of the police for inquest.
They are also incidentally the village band, and their music is
in great request at marriages and other festivals. The
mahars are appointed by the patel subject to the approval of
the Tahsildar. Their pay is given m kind by the cultivators
at harvest, and varies according to the custom of the
village . certain crops, e.g. cotton are frequently exempt,
and the rate of the hahs may be altered by the Deputy
Commissioner or Subdivisional Officer, if a change in
the village crops necessitates this course. As a matter
of custom, the mahars also get the skins and carcases
of dead animals. In alienated villages the jagirdar is
responsible for the up-keep both of the jagha force and the
menials, and in the Melghat jaglias are appointed on a different
system and the Mahars replaced by Balahis, Nihals,
Pardhans and other low caste tribes, and even occasionally by
KorkQs themselves. From the point of view of police, the
effectiveness of the village watch and ward has recently been
the subject of much criticism and discussion and the
reorganisation of the jaglia force is now being considered.
Without entering upon debatable ground it may be said to be
generally admitted that the excuse is to be found in the
extreme smallness of the pay of jaglias and the mahars’ haks.
The latter, moreover, are m the first instance village servants,
not watchmen, in which capacity they are merely auxiliary to
the jaglias. As watandars too they have in the past been
admitted to office without much inquiry into their characters.
However this may be, there are some matters is which their
probity IS universally admitted. Neither jagha nor pandewir
draws more than the barest living wage, sometimes they draw
considerably less. Both are most frequently landless men
who would have no difficulty in disappearing. Yet they are
daily trusted with hundreds and even thousands of rupees,
sums amounting to many times their yearly pay, to take to the
tahsills : and it is almost if not quite au unknown thing in the
history of Berar for them to fad in their trust,
332 aMraOti Dis^RidT. General ADMI^^ISTRAT^o^i.
318. The Civil District of East Berar is second only to
Nagpur for the dubious distinction of
litigation?'* being the most litigious in the Provinces.
According to the latest figures 9749
suits weie filed in 1907 as compared with 11,660 in the latter
District. The District Court, however, considered 659 appeals
in that year, while that of Nagpur had only 390 , figures which
suggest that the amount spent in litigation must be higher in
Berar. The commonest suits are those connected directly or
indirectly with land, with questions of the right to be
considered a member of Deshmukh or Deshpande, Patelki or
Patwari families, and with cotton, which is the staple industry
of the District. Land is held under the ryotwan tenure and
as it IS of veiy great value and fertility, suits regarding it are
taken to the highest courts regardless of expense ; mortgages
with a condition of foreclosure are common, those with a
condition of sale raie ; and the right of pre emption is also a
frequent source of discord. Further, as the revenue law
makes no provision for a compulsory mutation of names in
village registers when a field changes hands, it commonly
happens that the khaUdar or registered occupant is a person
with no tangible right in the soil save that of paying the
revenue on it • and thus many suits are filed for a
declaration in favour of mutation. The titles of the village
and ex-pargana officers are used in Berar as family surnames
conveying a certain amount of distinction. The allowance,
{nisUm or lawdzimd) made to the latter is a matter to
be divided among members of the family. Hence there
are always a number of claimants to be declared members
of • Deshmukh or Deshpande families. Suits for paitition
of ancestral property are also not uncommon, while a decree
of the civil court in favour of an applicant’s claim to
patel or patwari family has always this additional attraction!
that it may some day be found useful when the revenue court
is deciding the right to the ofifice itself. Finally, the ginning
and pressing of cotton in partnership leads to suits for
dissolution of partnership and rendition of account : and the
satid system of speculation on the coming crop gives nss to
GENERAL ADMINISTRATION. 333
suits upon losses so incurred which provide the courts with
a considerable amount of work. There are two barristers-
at-law, both Europeans, practising in this District, seven
advocates of the High Court and 6o District vakils : this does
not include those resident in Yeotmal.
319. The Court of Wards does not exist in Berar, the system
in force in its place being that of the
Guaidians and Wards Act VIII of 1890.
Responsible persons are appointed by
the District Judge to be guardians of minors’ estates: they
give substantial security for the proper performance of their
duties ; and in important matters they cannot act without first
consulting the court. The system is believed to work
satisfactorily. In 1907 there were 63 estates so managed in
this District with a total value, though many of them were
small in size, of over eight lakhs of rupees.
320. There are 236 miles of road in charge of the Public
Works Department, of which 114^
Public Works. miles are class i, or fully metalled.
A road from Sembadoh to Dharni
(24 miles) is under construction, and it is proposed to make over
to the Department the road from Morsi by Chandur Bazar
and Ellichpur to Paratwada. The road from Amraoti to
Ellichpur has two fine bridges at Balgaon and Assegaon.
The total value of buildings under the Department reaches
the large figure of Rs. 23,71,159, of which Rs. 19,79,687 is
represented by civil buildings, Rs. 2,63,473 by the military
buildings formerly belonging to the Hyderabad Contingent,
Rs. 49,668 by Ecclesiastical, and Rs. 78,331 by the Postal and
Telegraph Departments. The annual cost of upkeep is
Rs. 17,929. Among the more notable structures are the
Deputy Commissioner’s office at Amraoti (Rs. 1,80,993), the
Commissioner’s office (Rs. 37,213), and the Conservator’s
(Rs, 27,246) : the two latter have been recently built. The
Law Courts cost Rs. 1,37,726, the Church, Rs. 14,204, and the
District Jail Rs. 4,02,010. There is a fine Circuit House with
Officer’s Rest House attached (total cost Rs 57,946) and a
334 amraoti district, general administration,
Circuit House at Elhchpur (Rs. 16,663). latter place,
besides the former military quarters, there are the usual
buildings of a civil station, the most important being the
former Deputy Commissioner’s office, now used as a court
house (Rs. 1,32,850) and a Church (Rs, 16,197) These high
figures are of course partly accounted for by the higher cost
of building and especially of labour in Berar ps compared with
the Central Provinces. The two tanks at Amraoti are under
the control of the Department; and the diik bungalows
throughout the District have recently been made over to it by
the District and Municipal Boaids,
321. The former District Jail at Ellichpur has been
abandoned, the buildings being made over to
the Police Department , and the Central Jail
at Amraoti was reduced on the i6th April 1908, to the status
of a first class District Jail, The building has accommodation
for 633 prisoners, including 48 in the women’s ward. The
daily average number of prisoners for the last five years of
its maintenance as a Central Jail were as follows ' —
1903 ... ... ... ... 290
1904 ••• — • . ••• 271
1905 ••• — ... ••• 2 fio
1906 ... ... ... ... 224
iQoy •• ,,, ^44
and the cost of maintenance par head was m 1906,
Rs. 91-14-10 and in 1907, Rs, 85-5 0. The chief industries
were formerly stone-breaking and lithography, but the latter
has now, with the transference of the long-term prisoners,
been transferred to the Central Jail at Nagpur, The
lithography was done solely for Government departments, and
the forms supplied to these in 1907 brought in Rs. 43,630.
In the garden attached to the jail and worked by prison labour,
vegetables for prison use and aloes, {Agave catitala) are
grown. The leaves of the latter are s .Hashed by beating and
yield an excellent long fibre, from which coarse rope and
twine are prepared this work is given as an alternative to
stone breaking to some of the prisoners,
general administration.
335
322. The Civil Surgeon of Amraoti has hospitals at Amraoti
. Camp and Ellichpnr Civil Station each in
Hospitals charge of an Assistant Surgeon, and
smaller ones (maintained by Government ) at Chikalda and
Dharni in the Melghat. There are also dispensaries (most of
which have wards attached) at the following places, They
are supported by subscriptions from private persons and local
bodies, and are managed by committees of local residents
under the guidance of the Civil Surgeon.
Amraoti taluk. Chaudui taluk. Daiyipur tUluk,
Amraoti City, Chandur Railway, Daryapur,
Badnera. Talegaon, Anjangaon,
Kholapur, Elhchpur taluk. Mwsi taluk.
Ellichpur City, Morsi,
Chandur Bazar, Warud,
These, together with the two in the Melghat, are in
charge of hospital assistants. In the State institutions
the total accommodation is for sixty-seven men and eight
women, at the dispensaries for forty men and ten women.
There is also a Duffenn Hospital in Amraoti City with
accommodation for 20 in-patients. This is in charge of a fully
qualified Lady practitioner, and is managed by a committee
of which the Commissioner is president. At Kotharia, near
Ellichpur, an asylum for lepers is maintained by the KorlcQ
Mission on behalf of the Mission to Lepers in India. This
has recently been accorded a Government grant-in-aid; the
buildings include a church and a dispensary and accommodate
about tw enty-seven lepers. In 1906 the number of outdoor
patients treated in the District was 109,776, and in 1907
95,113; such treatment may therefore be looked upon as
fairly popular. Indoor patients in these two years have
numbered 1371 and 1183 ; and when Government servants,
paupers and cases brought in by the police are deducted from
these totals, it cannot be said that the hospital wards except
perhaps that at Amraoti, are used by the public to any
great extent. Probably the cause of this is the publicity
of the ward system; for when in India a man comes to
hospital, be generally brings bis wife with him, The
33(5 AMRAOTI DISTRICT, GENERAL ADMINISTRATION,
extension of family wards therefore is the policy now being
pursued.
323. The District is divided into circles for purposes of
vaccination, two in each taluk. In
Vaccination. the four municipalities, vaccination is
compulsory under the Act ; but in the
villages much depends on the co-operation of the village
oflScers, who as a rule support it energetically. Previous to
i8q4 vaccination was earned on by the hospital assistants •
the experiment of having special vaccinators was tried and
abandoned in 1904, since when there has been some falhng-off
in the numbers of persons vaccinated. The last quinquennium
for which statistics are available (1898-1903) shows a small-
pox death-rate of 0.15 per thousand. Further information
may be had from the interesting reports of Lieutenant-Colonel
Little.
324. Prior to the Assignment there were no schools
supported expressly by the State
Education Private schools txisted m which
Sanskrit was taught to Brahman boys
and Marathi to Hindus of lower castes. Mahars, Mangs,
Chamars and other degraded tribes were not allowed to enter
any school. Mtmshis taught the Arabic of the Koran,
Persian and Urdu, and in the old Muhammadan city of
Ellichpur the traditional Muhammadan culture was (and to a
very limited extent still is) maintained, ‘ But up to 1861, ’
(writes Mr. J. H-. Burn) ‘ when education became the concern
‘ of the State, the occupation of teaching was looked upon as
‘ derogatory, and metaphorically designated grazing (cattle).
'Thus It never got beyond mere rudiments with most of the
‘ pupils. We have nevertheless a stock of good writers and
‘excellent accountants raised by the few indigenous schools 01
< by private household tuition. The village writers, several
‘literary deshmukhs and patels among the Hindus, many
‘ well-to-do traders, the kazis and other Muhammadans all
‘represent the results of private education.’* Scattered
I Berar Qcteetteer (1870), p. 273,
GjSNERAL AbMINISTRATION,
337
schools were organised by Government in 1861 and
succeeding years, and the Educational Department was
introduced m 1866 , middle and lower class schools ivere
opened, and on the ist November in that year the High
School at Amraoti was established. At the present day
Amraoti shows a higher proportion of children under
instruction to children of school-going age than any other
District in the Central Provinces or Berar. The High School
at Amraoti has an attendance of 400 boys, of whom 40 are
boarders ; and extra boarding accommodation is being built.
The Anglo-Marathl middle school has an average attendance,
of 273, and the Anglo-UrdQ school * 57. The High School,
prior to the amalgamation of Provinces, prepared for the
examinations of the Bombay University, but now for those of
Allahabad. Besides these there are 6 other Anglo-vernacular
schools m the District, and English classes supported by
voluntary contributions in many of the District Board schools.
A small Government industrial school at Amraoti has been
merged in the Victoria Technical Institute. The total of
273 schools for boys and 22 for girls in the District, with
an attendance (out of a population of 809,499 and an
estimated child population of 121,000) of over eighteen
thousand, is a fairly creditable one. The large majority
of boys' schools are owned and managed by the District
Board and Municipalities, and the system of grants-in-
aid to privately owned schools has in recent years been
almost entirely discontinued, only ten such remaining ; all
these, together with several unaided schools, teach the
ordinary curriculum and are inspected by Government officers.
Three only are completely independent, and the teaching
given in these is entirely of a religious character, two being
maintained at Hordernganj and Tiosa respectively by wealthy
Marwan merchants for the teaching of Sanskrit, and one at
the village of Kakada being held in a mosque foi the inculca-
tion of the Koran. As in other parts of India, female edu-
cation lags far behind. Government has recently taken over
from the local bodies the twenty girls’ schools maintained by '
< Since raised to the status of a High School.
33^ AMRAOTl DISTRICT. GENERAL ADMINISTRATION.
them, and thete are two unaided schools belonging to Mission
bodies. The female normal school for the training of teachers
was transferred from Nagpur to Amraoti m 1905. One Urdu
and four Marathi newspapers are published in Amraoti, and
one Marathi periodical in Ellichpur. Their names are as
follows -.—Safir-i-Berar, Pramod Sindhu, Kartavya, Vyapar
Samachar, Maharashtra Vagvilas, Prabhat (Ellichpur).
335. The Amraoti District Board came into existence in 1890,
and now controls, except in the
District Board, Municipalities and in the backward
tract of the Melghat, the primary
schools and a variety of other matters. Minor public buildingsi
and all but the most important roads and bridges are in its
charge ; it regulates bazars and fairs and attends to village
sanitation and water-supply; it supports with large
contributions the dispensaries throughout the District and the
Duffenn Fund: it pays the expenses of vaccination, and it
maintains the veterinary establishment and the pounds. In
years of scarcity or plague it also takes up large measures
of relief or prevention. Under it are the Taluk Boards, one
for each of the five taluks in the plains, which act as its
advisers with regard to the needs of their charges, and its
agents in carrying out the work ordered. They have no
authority of their own, though the question of investing
them with powers similar to those possessed by Local
Boards m the Central Provinces is now under consideration.
The District Fund reaches a total of from two to three
lakhs of rupees, and its chief items as laid down in section 22
of the Rural Boards Law are the various cesses, grants-in-
aid from Government for general purposes and for education,
some minor receipts such as pound fees, and fees levied
in the schools. By far the largest heads of expenditure are
education and public works, dispensaries and hospitals tanking
third. As at present arranged, the constitution of the Board
is somewhat complicated. A limited electorate chooses
twelve members for each of the Taluk Boards and six (includ-
ing the Tabsildar, who is usually chairman) are nominated by
Government , the Taluk Boards then elect two members each
GENERAL ADMINISTRATION.
33y
yearly for a term of 3 years and to the thirty thus obtained
are added eight nominated on behalf of Government,
including the five Tahsildars and the Deputy Commissioner
who is ex-officio chairman. The vice-chauman is elected by
the members. The Board has a sub-committee foi finance
and audit, and another, on which some non-members sit, for
education. It has a paid Secretary who conducts the office
work, and a Public Works Department under a Local Fund
Supervisor, which carries out all works of less than Rs. 1000
estimated value,
326. Two minor excluded local funds deserve some
mention, namely, the Melghat, and the
Ftinds°^ cotton market funds. As already
A. The Melghat Fund, mentioned, the Melghat is exempt
from the operation of the Berar Rural
Boards Law, and sends no representatives to the District
Board. Its school cess is paid to and its schools managed
by that body, but for all other local purposes its funds are
separate under the immediate control of the Deputy
Commissioner. These purposes include the maintenance of
the Chikalda sanitarium to which the ground rent of
bungalows in Chikalda, as well as a fixed Provincial grant
(in supersession of the former District grants) are applied.
327. There are six cotton market committees in the
District, one at each of the taluk head-
quarters, and one at Dhamangaon-
Dattapur, the most important town in
the Chandur taluk. The committees are concerned with the
maintenance and improvement of the market and its
surroundings, the construction of chaduirai and other
necessary buildings, and in general with the health, safety
and convenience of persons using the market, Thus they
license weighmen and enforce the use of standard weights.
Fees are levied by the committee from persons using the
markets, and at the end of each year the balances are
credited to District Board or Municipal funds according to
the situation of the market.
340 AMRAOtl DISTRICT, general ADMiNI&TRiTIOK.
328. The work of sanitation in non-municipal areas is, as
already stated, attended to by the
Sanitation. District Board, and by the patels. A
peculiarity of the District is to be found
m the number of very large villages, such as Badnera,
Karasgaon, Shirasgaon Kasba, or accumulations of villages
such as Anjangaon Surji and Dhamangaon-Hordernganj-
Dattapur, which present peculiar difficulties in the way of
sanitation, but have no organisation to meet them. In some
there are village sanitation committees, which are supposed
to work under the District and Taluk Boards, and to offer
suggestions. They have no source of income and no
independent standing , m general, the members show little or
no interest in their work preferring to leave it in the hands
of the patel ; the District Board, on the other hand, is not
unnaturally chary of favouring selected places in the matter
of expenditure, with a result that real sanitation is but little
attended to, However, it is only fair to recognise the help
village authorities generally have given m preventing the
extension of epidemic disease such as plague and cholera.
The question of extending the Central Provinces Village
Sanitation Act to Berar is now under consideration ; and it
is hoped that this may provide a means of improving at any
rate the more advanced of the towns m question. There is
nothing in Berar to correspond with the Central Provinces
system of Notified areas.
329. There are four Municipalities, all constituted under
the Berar Municipal Law of 1886,
Municipalities. namely, Amraoti town and camp,
Ellichpur city and civil station. The
largest, Amraoti town, has j8 elected members and 6 nominated
by the Chief Commissioner ; but in the others the membership
IS entirely by nomination ; all employ paid secretaries. The
Deputy Commissioner is ex-olficio chairman of the two
headquarters committees ; and it is usual for the Subdivisional
Officer to fill the same post in the two at Ellichpur. The
taxes, with the exception of a small toll on carts coming into
Amraoti town (this is let to farm), are all diiect, the main
GENERAL \DMINIS1 RATION. 341
imposts being on professions and trades (except in Amraoti
camp) and on houses and lands (except m Ellichpur civil
station) Considerable diiBculty is experienced, especially in
Amraoti town, m collection, as the rate-payers have acquired
the habit of delaying payment as long as possible ; and though
the burden is not heavy, appeals to the magistrate for aid in
collection are very numerous ; and iii general the committees
may be said to be in straitened circumstances. The folio-wing
table gives the position of the Municipalities according to
latest reports, those for year ending March 31st 1908 : —
Municipality
Population
Census 1901
1
§
S
Income
I
m
jlncidence per bead.
Tax and
Cesses.
Others
Total.
1 Tas
Income.
Rs.
Rs.
Rs.
Rs.
IRs a p,
Rs. a. p.
1 Amraoti Town
34,219
24
53,410
14,418
67,828
67,285
1 9 0
1 14 7
2 Amraoti Camp.
5,295
10
8,196
9,811
18,007
14,003
I 8 .9
3 5 7
3 Ellichpur City.
26,822
22
14,083
6,715
20,798
30,256
1 0 8 8
0 12 8
4 Ellichpur Civil
Station
8,132
12
5,377
13,098
18,475
14,898
n 10 7
2 4 3
At the date of Sir A. Lyall’s Gazetteer, 1870, Ellichpur
city had 27,782 inhabitants, while Amraoti could not boast of
more than 23,410. It has recently been proposed to introduce
the electoral system into Ellichpur, but the proposal -was
abandoned owing to the lack of interest displayed, Even m
Amraoti town at the last election, when party feeling ran
unusually high, little over 20 per cent, of the electors
could be induced to register their votes. The chief problems
before the Municipalities, besides that of finance, are water-
supply and sanitation. The latter is good in the two civil
stations, but poor in the two cities, particularly in Amraoti,
where various schemes proposed from time to time have had
to be abandoned owing to lack of funds. The problem is
intimately associated vyith that of street -widening and
342 AMRAOTI DISTRICT. GENER\I ADMINISTRATION.
providing open spaces, and the high value of land in Muni-
cipal limits has been one of many stumbling blocks. Water is
drawn in the two Ellichpurs from wells only, though m the city
there is an ancient conduit now no longer fit for use. In
Amraoti camp the Wadali tank and filtering station supply ex-
cellent water to the various bungalows and public offices ; but
the tank leaks considerably, and as its storage capacity is
small, it cannot be relied upon m a shortage of rainfall. Two
subsidiary tanks which were constructed during the famine of
iSgg-igoo gave way before a flood in 1903, and have not since
been repaired. The wells in camp are both numerous and
excellent, and may generally be relied upon except in seasons of
extreme drought. The case is different in Amraoti town, where
the wells contain only brackish water and are constantly being
fouled. The Kalapani tank, four miles away, gives a fair supply
of water, but even m good years is inadequate for the rapidly
increasing population, and has always to be supplemented by
pumping operations at Rajapeth waterworks about a mile
from the city. Even this source is insufficient in times of
scarcity and, if the town is to develop in the future as it has
done in the immediate past, a large addition to the water-
supply is a necessity. A scheme was mooted a few years ago
for the construction of a large tank at India, some miles away,
which, it was thought, would not only give a sufficient supply
for the two Municipalities but even perhaps leave a surplus
for irrigation ; the project, however, would be a ver y costly one,
and nothing has as yet been done A general scheme for a
sufficient water-supply has been and is still under
consideration. Further details as to the separate municipal
towns will be found under the separate headings in the
Gazetteer Appendix.
330. The following table gives statistics of revenue in
Statistics of Revenue recent years!. —
GENERAL 'IDMINISTRATION.
343
iing table.
344 AMRAOTI DISTRICT. GENERAL ADMINISTRATION.
331. The District balance sheet for
Recopts and charges.
follows : —
Receipts
1 Charges.
Heads.
Amount.
1 Heads.
Amount.
Rs. A,
p
I.
Land Reve-
1
Refunds am
mie
28,41,851 15
11
drawbacks .
10,783 2
7
11.
Opium
51,535 8
0
2.
Assignme n t s
and compen
2,390 2
IV.
Stamps ..
3,78,878 4
0
sation
7
V.
Excise
10,42,081 6
8
3,
Land Revenue
5,15,244 1
7
VI.
Provincial
6.
Stamps
9,824 4
5
rates ..
2,30,514 3
0
7.
Excise
17,230 1
11
VII
Customs ...
21,105 3
2
10
Assessed taxes
3.704 15
7
VIII
Assessed
12.
Registration.
15,299 9
4
taxes ..
82,012 12
7
IS.
General Admi
X.
Registration
44,139 14
9
nistration ,.
56,420 4
8
Wa
XII.
Interest . .
2,289 11
5
tice. Courts
XVlA,
Law and
of Law
1,24,519 12
I
Jus tice.
19b. Law and Jus
Courts ol
tice. Jails ,.
21,520 15
5
Law
17,614 3
5
Police
20.
3,18,839 2
9
XVIn.
Law and
Jus tice.
22.
Education ..
1,18,132 8
2
Jails „
2,827 7
4
23.
Ecclesiastical
11,234 2
0
XVII.
Police
21,322 18
8
24.
Medical
43,466 6
6
XIX.
Education... 1
17,527 13
5
26.
Scientiflc
6,627 8
9
XX.
Medical
155 6
0
27,
Territorial anc
Political ..
763 6
5
XXII.
Receipts in
aid of su-
29.
Supera n n u a
perannua-
tion
3,830 13
9
ances and
pensions ...
80,802 10
3
XXIII
Statione r y
30.
Stationery and
and Print-
ing
2,662 3
7
Printing .
12,504 15
6
32.
Miscellaneous
13,649 1 5
XXV.
Miscellane-
45,
Civil Works...
ous
85,781 5
9
1,63 347 10
S
Total ...
48,45,334 5
5
Total ...
15,25,812 11
6
GENERAL ADMINISTRATION.
3+5
To this may be added the following’ —
Income.
Expenditure
Forest, Araraoti Division
,, Melghat Division „
Rs
1,26,459
1,91,731
Rs.
33,432
89 852
Total ...
3,18,190
1,23,284
P. W D. Communications &c.
,, Irrigation
Badnera Government Book Depot .
276
nit
46,374
143,860
1,202
42,285
The income and expenditure of local bodies is
shown in the
following table. The excess of expenditure over income in
some cases is due to temporary reasons and requires no
comment.
Income,
Expenditure
Rs.
Rs»
District Board
294,700
3,65,787
Amraoti Town Municipal Committee.
fi7,82fi
67,285
Amraoti Camp Municipal Committee.
18,007
14,003
Bllichpur City Municipal Committee,
20,798
30,256
Bllichpur Civil Station Municipal C,
18,476
14,898
Total Municipal Fund
1,25,108
1,25,442
Melghat Fund
3,761
6,125
Amraoti Cotton Market
9.412
8,281
Bllichpur „ „
1,204
672
Daryapur „
1,206
599
Morsi „ „
972
972
Chandur „ ,,
1,102
1,097
Dattapur „ „
1,913
2,054
Total Cotton Market Fund
15,809
13,675
Dispensary Fund
20,166
14,204
Total all Local Funds ...
45,9,544
5,16,233
These total receipts however include grants from Govern-
ment and payments from one local fund to another.
APPENDIX.
GAZETTEER OF TALUKS, TOWNS,
IMPORTANT VILLAGES,
RIVERS AND HILLS.
APPENDIX.
^ GAZETTEER OF TALUKS, TOWNS,
important villages, rivers and hills,
Ambada- — Taluk Morsi': houses 701. Population 3,242.
A large but unimportant village in the Morsi taluk, having a
combined post office and Marathi school and also an Urdu
school. The weekly bazar is held on Fridays. The watandEr
Patel is a Muhammadan.
Amla, — Taluk Chandur: houses 640. Population 3,438.
A fair IS held here for a single day on Shivratr in the month of
Magh (February) and is attended by about 2,000 persons.
There is a modern temple of Visheswar (Mahadeo) managed
by a village panch on the profits of a fewr fields privately set
apart for the purpose.
Amner. — Once the headquarters of the Amner pargana,
Melghat taluk: the village is deserted, but= ‘ the little fort of
‘ Amner, often called Jilpi Amner, has had some fame in
< recent wars. It occupies an elevated position immediately
‘ overlooking the waters of the Garga and Tapti at their
‘ junction. It is a compact-looking quadrangular building of
‘ brick and mud pointed with mortar. The walls are flanked
‘ by four round bastions of the same material, and enclose
‘ about an acre of ground. The west angle is occupied by a
< mosque, which, with its minarets towering about the rest of
‘ the fort, presents rather a picturesque object. There is only
‘ one approach, that from the north-west, on a level with the
‘ left bank of the Tapti, which, though entirely of earth, is
‘ very steep and lofty. The gateway and a portion of the
‘ ramparts were destroyed in 1858. At the same time the
» In this Appendix the words “ gin ” and “ press ” are used through,
out as equivalents for steam ginning and pressing factory irrespective
of the number of gins or presses at work in the factory
Berar Gazetteer 1870.
350 AMNER.
‘ guns, four or five in number,' were removed.’ It lay in the
line of Tantia Topi’s retreat at the close of the Mutiny and
subsequently when Tantia Bhil was harassing the surround-
ing country with his raids a police watch was established here
under the command of the late Raja Khuman Smgh, without
however very much eflect,
Amner-— Taluk Morsi houses 329, Population 1,522.
A village on the Wardha opposite the town of Jalalkhed m
Nagpur District. Formerly a place of much importance, it
has to-day been left in a corner and can only be reached by
country roads from Nagpur or Warud; but the rums of the
town walls as well as of many temples, mosques and tombs
bear witness to its former glories. It is said to have had
manufactures of laces and silk and a fair to which elephants,
horses, jewellery, and other outward signs of wealth were
brought. There was a great fight here between the Bhonsla
and the Nizam when the latter was marching to the reduction
of Nawab Ismail Khan, and the tombs of the slam are still
shown. In 1826, the Muharram and the Hindu festival
Ganesh ChaturthI coinciding, a serious faction fight took
place. To-day the population is chiefly Muhammadan. There
is an old temple to Mahadeo, on the banks of the river, and,
about 30 paces off, a pool, the depth of which is unknown ;
at the bottom of it there is said to be a temple which can be
seen when the river is clear. Tradition has it that the place
is presided over by the gods, and that at one time any
Brahman by asking for cooking vessels over-night would find
them near this hole in the morning ; he was, however, bound to
return them, when used, into the water: one day a Brahman
prayed for a large number, and, instead of returning them,
sold them, since when they have never been supplied.
Perhaps the most striking of the rums, though it is little over two
hundred years old, is the makbam of Lai Khan Pathan, a large
domed building in white stucco, with small spires at the four
corners. Over the gateway is an inscription m Persian as
follows : —
‘ For the service of the throne of the Emperor Alamgir, his
* servant Raja Kisn Sing, with great exertions and ih purity of
‘ heart and soul laid the foundation of a beautiful tomb, a
‘ mosque, a cistern and a garden as well constructed as
‘ Paradise itself. It was on the felicitous day the fourth of
‘ Ramzan that Lai Khan Bazlaman passed from this world.
‘ Though his body be placed in the earth of Amner, yet his
‘ pure soul is entrusted to the Han. O God < Ever preserve
‘ this matchless resting-place that his holy tomb and the dome
‘ of light may always shine. When I sought of the unseen one
‘ the year of his death, I was told “ Lai Khan achieved marlyr-
‘ dom at Badnur.” The building of the mausoleum was
‘ accomplished between the 34th and 36th years of the Emperor’s
‘ reign at Delhi, Hijri 1100,’ The chronogram ‘Lai Khan yaft
‘ shah&dat bamakan Badmiy,' gives not only the place but the
date of his death. Perhaps the most notable feature of the
tomb is that it should have been built by a Hindu Raja.
Amraoti Taluk.— The headquarters taluk of the Amraoti
District lying between 2o''4i' and 21^12' N. and 77*32' and
78'’2' E. with an area of 672 square miles, or 14 per cent, of that
of the District The taluk contains 330 villages and towns ; of
which 9 are jagir. It lies m the fertile valley of Ber 5 r but
the almost uniform characteristics of this valley are broken by
a low range of stony and barren hills which, cropping up in the
immediate vicinity of Amraoti camp, extends over the eastern
border of the taluk. The taluk is bounded on the north by
the Ellichpur and Morsi taluks, on the west by the Daryapur
taluk and the Murtizapur taluk of Akola District, and m the
east and south it borders upon the Chandur taluk, almost touch-
ing with its north-eastern extremity, the river Wardha which
forms the line of division between Berar and the Central
Provinces. The taluk is compact in shape though it narrows
towards the north , it has a length of 30 miles and an average
breadth of some 23 miles. The tract contains no large
forest , but babul and mango are plentiful everywhere, though
the latter tree does not attain to any very great sizes The
taluk has a great variety of soils ranging from the prevalent
black argillaceous mould to the worst of rocky soils. Inferior
in appearance though the latter are, however, they, ate
tolerably fertile owing to the iron felspar they contain, and m
352
AUlBAOTI TALUS.
favourable seasons they produce excellent crops, but require
periodical manuring. The black soil, however, except m the
western part of the taluk where it contains an excess of
saline mattei, is very fertile, requiring little or no manure
nor even heavy ploughing, for the production of the prolific
cotton for which this part of Berar is so justly renowned.
The soil is deep and in the hot weather great fissures form
in it sometimes several feet deep. When the rains come,
the surface matter is washed well below and the soil turned
as effectually as it would be by the best ploughs.’ The climate
is on the whole healthy, though trying in the months of April,
May and June on account of the extreme heat. The only
rivers of any importance are the Puma and the Pedhi ; the
former separates Amraoti from Daryapur on the western
border and contains a supply of water throughout th^e year.
The Pedhi running through the centre of the taluk also has a
perennial supply. Many of the villages are dependent on
wells for their drinking water. The same salt bed, however,
which underlies parts of the Akola District and Daryapur
taluk, infects Amraoti; and well water accordingly is
frequently very brackish especially in the western towns and
villages. Two large tanks have been constructed near
Amraoti to supply the Civil Station and the city, but m years
of short rainfall the supply is precarious. There are also
tanks at Pohora, Anjangaon Ban, and one or two other places.
The population of the taluk in igoi was 175,557 persons, or
, . about 22 per cent, of that of the
Popumtton. ,
District. In 1891 the population was
183,508 and in i88i, 163,456. The increase between 1881 and
1891 was 13.3 per cent, as against the District figure of
9.2 per cent,, and the decrease between 1891 and 1901 was
4.3 per cent, as against the District figure of 4,7 per cent. As
usual, the decrease m the last decade may be attributed to
the series of bad years and the famines. The density
of population is 261 souls per square mile, and exclud-
ing towns the density of rural population is 170 persons
per square mile. The taluk contains 5 towns and 325
1 This is the popular theory.
UIRAOTI TAI
353
villages, of which 67 are uninhabited ' according to village
lists. The towns in the taluk are Amraoti, Amraoti Camp,
Badncra, Kholapur and Balgaon Jagir. Of the population
34.76 per cent live m towns and 65.24 per cent, live in
villages. Besides the above towns the following ii villages
contained a population of more than 2,000 persons in igoi ; —
Anjangaon Bari, Takarkheda, Thugaon Kasba, Nandgaon
Peth, Pusda, Bhatkuli, Mahuli Jagir, Yaoli, Wathoda, Sahur,
and Sirala. There were also 15 villages whose population
exceeded 1,000 persons.
Formerly the principal crop was juari, which forms almost
entirely the food of the people. At the
Agriculture. oiiginal settlement it occupied 36 per
cent, of the cultivated land. Second m importance then
stood wheat which occupied 22 per cent., and though
partly consumed m the District was chiefly exported.
Cotton came next, and the area occupied by it was 68,660
acres or 21 per cent, of the entire land under cultivation.
This proportion was considered reasonable and it was
expected that the cultivation of cotton would not be much
further extended here — at least not m undue proportion to the
other crops — as it would bring about a still greater scarcity of
food than already existed. At revision settlement the figures
based on the average for the settlement period (1893-1897)
show that the area under cotton annually was 122,804 acres or
about 35 per cent., and that juar was second though not far
behind with 111,896 acres or 32 5 per cent, of the cultivated
and. Wheat then came next in importance with 57,918
acres or 16.3 per cent., whilst linseed with 26,485 acres or 7.5
per cent, covered less than half this area. In 1906-07 the
total village area excluding State forests but including the area
of jagirs was 399,445 acres ; of this 372,861 acres or 93 per cent,
were occupied for cultivation. ' The total cropped area includ-
ing double cropped (200 acres only) was 360,880 acres. The
continued demand and the consequent high prices have greatly
1- An uninhabited village is one whose inhabitants in the Pinddci
times betook themselves to live in some more strongly fortified place,
generally th^ Kasbcf or Pargana Town, but oontinuecj their separate
village organisation and the cultivation of their old. fields,
354
AMRAOTI TALUKt
Stimulated the cultivation of cotton ; the area under it
being 172,472 acres or about 48 per cent, of the total. The
area under juan had declmed, being 97,561 acres or 27 percent.
Wheat occupied 44,026 acres or 12.2 per cent, and linseed
5,276 acres or 1.4 per cent The area hrigated was only 1,674
acres, chiefly from wells, there being no patast/ial hagait land.
At the original settlement the 330 Government villages
were divided into 4 groups and assessed
Land Revenue. ,, , to r
With a dry crop maximum acreage
rate of Rs. 2-8-0. The average rates per cultivated acre,
however, varied from R. 1-2-4 i-8-g. As m other
taluks the grouping of villages was made from a considera-
tion of their proximity or otherwise to the large bazar towns
and the railway stations. At revision settlement, considering
the excellence of communications in the taluk both by road
and rail it was thought unnecessary to tone down assess-
ments by division of villages into separate groups. Hence all
villages of the taluk were included m one settlement group
and a maximum dry crop standard acreage rate of Rs. 2-12-0
was fixed. The demand at the time of revision settlement on
Government occupied land of 349,905 acres according to the
former survey was Rs. 4,66,057 giving an incidence of R, 1-5-4
per acre; while at the revision settlement the assessment
on Government occupied land of 349,893 acres according to
revision survey was increased to Rs. 6,30,144, the incidence
per acre falling at R. i- 12-10. The increase in revenue
thus amounted toRs. 1,64,087, being 35.2 per cent, in excess of
the previous demand. In 1907-08 the land revenue demand
including cesses was Rs. 6,71,559 while the actual collections
according to Treasury figures were Rs. 6,76,662 including
however some amount on account of airear collections. For
purposes of land records the taluk has been divided into three
Circle Inspectors’ circles with headquarters at Badnera,
Dhamoni and Nandgaon.
It contains 6 Police Station-houses, of which the one at
Miscellaneous Amraoti is under the Amraoti City Ins-
pector, while the others at Takarkheda,
Kholapur, Badnera, Mahuli and Loni, each under a Sub-
AMRAOTI TOWN
355
Inspector, constitute a single police circle under the Amraoti
Taluk Inspector. The Chirodi Forest Reserve lies partly
in this taluk and partly m that of Chandur.
Amraoti Town. — The chief town of the province of Bera’^
and of the Amraoti District and headquarters of the taluk of
the same name. It stands about i,ii8 feet above sea-level in
20'’56' N. and 77^47' E., and is distant by railway about 113
miles to the south-west of Nagpur, 419 miles to the north-east
of Bombay and 814 miles to the south-west of Calcutta vi^
Nagpur. Hyderabad, Deccan, the Resident of which place
formerly administered Berar, is not connected with it by any
direct Imeof rail or road but lies about 250 miles to the southas
the crow flies Amraoti suffers from the disadvantage of not
being on the mam line of, the Great Indian Peninsula Railway,
but is connected with it at Badnera 6 miles away by a branch
line of State Railway. The town includes portions of the
villages of Tarkhed, Rajapeth, Gambhlrpur and Mahajanpur,
and is bounded roughly speaking by the Amba Nala on the south
and a srnaller watercourse (called Dalelpuri after a bygone
Gosawi) on the north To the west he the cultivated fields of
Gambhlrpur and Mahajanpur and to the east the civil
station, The area of the town is 361 acres and 38 gtmihas.
At the census taken in 1867 the population of the town was
, , 23,410 it was 23,550 in 1881, 28,946 in
1891 and 34,216 m 1901 ; an increase of
46 per cent, m 35 years. Since then however it has three tunes
been visited by plague, and it is probable, even when we allow
for large immigrations from elsewhere, that the figure of popu-
lation has been little more than stationary. It now stands 5th
among the towns of the Central Provinces being the most popu-
lous in Berar, though4o years ago it was surpassed by Ellichpur.
Of the total population 26,773 are Hindus, 6,295 Musalmans,
781 Jams, 186 Animists, 1 12 Christians, sSParsis and 31 Sikhs.
Amraoti contains a large number of Hindu and two Jam
temples as well as several mosques.
History and Anti- One of the latter, that of Bade Nal
Sahib, is stUl supported by tnam land,
and the Jami Masjid is said to be 300 years old but none of
356
AMKAOII TOWN.
them is of any interest. The Jam temples are small and call
for no particular comment. Among the Hindus the most
important are the temples of Amba Devi and of BalajI, next m
order after which come those of Ekirra Dev!, Someshwar, and
NarSyan and the Datta Mandir. The BalajI temple and
pilgrims’ math attached to it are supported from the revenues
of theiaaw village of Jamgaon in Amraoti taluk. The Amba
temple is said to be the oldest m Amraoti and lays claim to a
respectable antiquity of looo years, though how much of the
present building can be of that age it is impossible to say,
since pious hands have covered the whole with plaster and
ornament. It was from hence, we are told ‘ that Krishna
carried off Rukmini, who had come to the temple with her
brother Rukmaya to pay her vows before her marriage with
ShishupSl. With them to witness the ceremony came a number
of persons called Warhadis or Warharis, who settling here gave
their name to the country “ Warhar ” corrupted into “ Berar. ”
Rukmaya after Rukmini’s enlivement^ tried the chances of a
battle with Krishna, but was defeated and only spared at
the urgent entreaties of his sister. He then settled
at Bhatkuli a village 14 miles to the westward, where
his name has been perpetuated by a temple erected
in his honour. The name of the town is even said
to be derived from the goddess, though the derivation is
almost as doubtful as that just given for the name of the
province, and the etymology “ The Eternal City ” or “ City
of the Immortals” is far more likely (vide Chapter i, para. 1)
The deity is held in great reverence by the Hindu community
and on every occasion of a marriage or thread-ceremony
invitation is in variably offered first to this deity. The most
important days when the visitors come in great numbers are
the 8th, gth and loth days of the first fortnight of Ashwin
(October). The annual income, derived mainly from the
offerings made to the deity and from the dhavma fund collected
by the traders, amounts to Rs. 6,000 and the mam heads of
expenditure are sadavarta (alms-giving) and other charitable
Vtde also Kaundinyapur,
AMKAOTI TOWN
357
purposes. The management of the temple is in the hands of
a local committee composed of bankers and influential
citizens. The income and expenditure of the temple during
the year 1907-1908 were Rs. 6,000 and 5,000 respectively, and
doles were given to some nineteen thousand persons.
Apart from the temple the town is certainly a modern one, and
IS not even the headquarters of the pargana in which it lies,
that distinction being held by Badnera. Amraoti is said to
have been founded by Raghuji Bhonsla, and its fortunes com-
menced from the close of the eighteenth century when the
tyranny of the Akola talukdar drove a number of the inhabit-
ants of that place to settle here; but its early years were by no
means uniformly prosperous. Both the Nagpur and Hydera-
bad rulers were represented here, the former taking 60 per
cent, and the latter 40 per cent, of the revenues, and both
oppressing the people. Amraoti contains two interesting relics
of those days, one the Havell or office of the notorious Raja
Bisen Chanda (see Ridbpur), a building which possesses some
creditable carving and is now used as a primary school ; and
the other the great wall of the town. Readers of Meadows
Taylor’s “ Confessions of a Thug ” will doubtless recollect his
vivid description of the famous raid of Chitu the Pindari leader
on Amraoti; it was to protect the town from calamities such
as this that the wall was begun in A. D. 1804 by the Nizam’s
Government and was completed seventeen years later at a
cost of over four lakhs of rupees. The wall, which is two and
a quarter miles in circumference and from twenty to twenty-
six feet in height, is neither architecturally beautiful nor
strategically noteworthy. But it is so strongly built as to look
almost new to-day, and is a subject of much local pride and
patriotism. There are five large gates ( Amba, Bhu^ari,
Nagpur, Kholapur, and Mahajanwais) and four smaller ones
called khirhs (the Khunari, Chatrapuri, Mata and Patel’s
hhivUs). The Khunari Khirki derives its name from a faction
fight during the Muharram of A. D. 1816 in which no less
than 700 persons are said to have been killed. The civil
and military station of former days, which was occupied by
Messrs. Pestonji and Vikaji’s agents and by the early British
Amraoti town.
S58
administrators, lies just outside the wall to the north-west.
Nothing now remains save the butts of the old rifle range, a
large garden well, a small unenclosed cemetery with a few
broken-down graves, and one large octagonal tomb surmount-
•ed by a cross. It is possible that this may belong to
Wellesley’s army which halted here for some time after the
fall of GiiWllgarh. The town contains nothing else of
antiquarian interest, though here and there may be seen scraps of
"blackwood carving m verandahs and balconies and semi-
fortified houses dating from before the town wall was built.
The town of Amraoti is divided into two very distinct portions
the old city within and the new
Description. suburbs outside the walls ; but in recent
years, in addition to the gates already
mentioned two new passages have been made, namely in
Kangarpura and Sabanpura. Within the walls he the
mthallas and quarters called (i) Dhanraj street, (2) Machhisat,
(3) Dahisal, (4) Bhusara street, (5) Bohonsat, (6) Shakarsat,
(7) Sarafa, (8) Baj§,ja, (9) Kathada, (10) Baripura, (ii)
Patwipura, (12) Malipura, (i3)Budhwara, (14) Kumbharpura,
(15) Bhaji Bazar. The streets are mostly narrow and crooked
and the drainage is very unsystematic. Houses are closelj'
crowded and encroachments taking up land valuable either foi
drainage or ventilation have been in the past only too
common
Sanitation however is by no means so bad as one would
be inclined at first sight to suppose, for the bouses are almost
all well built upon solid plinths, which except in the case of
the poorer houses are usually of stone Outside the wall he
the weekly market and cotton market with the gins and
factories, a quarter which is usually sanitary and clean , and
Namuna, the best portion of the town, where are some of the
Government offices and the Louses of well-to-do pleaders and
- other leading citizens. This quarter contains two consider-
able open spaces, Nicoletts Park lying between the Municipal
office and the railway station, and Jog square opposite the
. Tahsili , and is generally the most modern and best cared-for
portion of the town. In other directions lie the slum suburbs
AMRAOTI TOWN. ^59
of Hamalpura, Masanganj, Ratanganj, etc. m which live the
poorest classes whom recent prosperity has brought as
frequent immigrants to Berar. The best that can be said for
these bastis is that being outside the wall they are some-
what more freely ventilated than similar spots inside . on
the other hand the houses are worse built. The question of
improving these localities is being taken up as funds permit.
A scientific drainage scheme is now before the Committee,
as also the issue of land for building purposes to the north of
the cotton market and opposite the Khunan Khirki in order
to relieve the congestion on some parts of the town.
The municipality was created here in 1869. It now
consists of 24 members— 18 elected by
unioipa ity ratepayers and 6 nominated by
Government. The average annual receipts and expenditure
from 1891-92 to 1906-07 were Rs. 58,724 and Rs: 58,628
respectively. The income m 1907-08 was Rs. 65,408, of which
Rs. 48,968 was derived from taxes, Rs. 4,442 from cesses,
Rs. 9,185 from fees and municipal property, Rs. 2,099 from
grants and Rs. 714 from miscellaneous items. The expen-
diture amounted to Rs. 64,716 during the same year, the
principal heads of expenditure being as follows ; —
Rs.
General administration and collection charges ... 5,673
Public safety . ... 3,032
Public health 45(231
Public instruction ... . ... 7,163
The incidence of income and taxation per head of popula-
tion in 1907-08 was R. 1-14-7 and R. 1-9-0 respectively.
Of the municipal buildings the clock tower, the Municipal ,
Hall and the boys’ school No. 3 are
Municipal buildings, important. The five cattle pounds
in charge of the municipality yield an income of Rs. 1,300 to
Rs. 1,400 per annum. The weekly market is provided with
sheds where the bazar is held twice a week on Sunday and
Wednesday. The right to collect bazar cess for the year
AMRAOTI TOWN
360
xgo9*io wab sold for Rs 5,500. A saim has been built foi
native travellers, the annual charges of maintaining which
are estimated at Rs. 200. The Bench Magistrates hold their
court in an old building belonging to Government.
Among the Government buildings in the town the Small
. Cause Court is the oldest, having been
Public fauildicgb , „ , „ . _
erected m 1868 at a cost of Rs. 54,183 ;
beside it and in the same compound stands the Tahsll
building erected two years later for Rs 34,447. The
Telegraph Office (Rs. 16,871) and General Post Office which
also face into Jog square were constructed about the same
time. Postal receipts and expenditure m 1907-08 were
Rs. 30,95,216, and Rs. 8,69,663 respectively. The High
School was built in October 1873, the total expenditure on it
up to the close of 1907-08 being Rs, 72,352. The average
daily attendance of students in the Pligh School was 206
during the year 1907-08. The receipts and expenditure for
the same period were Rs. 3,681 and Rs. 16,258 respectively.
The other buildings are the Anglo- vernacular school, the
Anglo-Hindustani school, the girls’ school, the Urdu girls
school and the normal school for women teachers. An Urdu
High School has now been established. In addition the
town contains a charitable dispensary and two police stations,
the gate lodges of the town wall being also utilized as police
chauMs.
Besides Government buildings, there is the fine edifice
recently erected to house the Victoria Technical Institute ,
this has a hall, now the largest in Amraoti, used for darbars,
examinations, and other functions. The Lady Dufferm
Plospital, the Catholic Dispensary and Convent school
intended for purdah ladies, a Free Library and a Theoso-
phical Hall are perhaps the most important chanties of
the town.
Amraoti contains two theatres, the Indra Bhawan in the
Places of recreation.
old town and the, Ganesh outside the
walls. There is a small club with
twenty-five or thirty members which possesses two tennis
AMRAOTI CAMP.
351
Factories and Presses.
courts. In Nicoletts Park travelling circuses occasionally
take up their quarters ; it is also used for various games.
The number of ginmng factories and that of cotton piesses
which fell within the scope of the Factor-
ies Act stood as 13 and 9 respectively
at the close of 1908. The oldest cotton ginning factory is
owned by the New Mofussil Company Limited which was
started in 1872 along with the cotton and oil presses with a
capital of a little over 2 lakhs of rupees. Amongst the cotton
presses that belonging to Messrs. Volkarts is the oldest. It
was opened in 1870 with a capital of Rs. 25,000. The two
oil presses now working here belong one to the New Mofussil
Company and the other to Messrs. Ramji Kanao & Co
Amraoti has long been known as the principal cotton mart
Trade Berar. The number of carts loaded
with cotton brought for sale in the
cotton market during the cotton season is about 100,000. The
income derived from the cotton market m 1907-80 was
Rs. 9,^112 and the expenditure Rs. 8,281. The cotton is
ginned, pressed and despatched in bales in large quantities to
Bombay every year from this station. During the year rgo8
ginned cotton weighing 373,626 maunds, of the value of about
60 lakhs of rupees, was exported. The other exports consist-
ed chiefly of cotton seed (156,559 maunds), oilseed (such as
linseed, linseed oil, &c.) weighing about 25,481 maunds, and
hides and skins (5,663 maunds). The imports were wheat
(59,382 maunds), rice(92,862 maunds, )sugar and jagree(i4,3i9
maunds), salt (8,273 maunds) and piece-goods and twist
(11,312 maunds).
Amraoti Camp. — The headquarters civil station of the
Berars is situated on rismg ground to the east of Amraoti
Town and about 1,283 above sea-level, The area is 12
square miles , the population in 1901, 5,295 persons as com-
pared with 4,709 m the previous census. Of the total popula-
tion 4,039 are Hindus, 708 Muhammadans, 461 Christians and
87 followers of other religions. The station is well laid out,
the climate dry and salubrious, and the mortality rates
exceptionally low.
362
aMraotI camp.
The municipality here was created in 1889, affairs having
previously been managed by a Civil
MuniupaI^^_Station Station Committee. There are 10
nominated members of whom the
Deputy Commissioner is ex-oflicio chairman, and the income
in the year 1907-08 was Rs. 17,726 , the expenditure being
Rs. 12,862. There weie windfalls in the course of the year,
but even when allowance has been made for these the figures
indicate a much healthier stale of affairs than had previously
been the case, for in the sixteen years preceding the average
expenditure had been about 300 rupees in excess of the
income. The incidence of income per head in 1908 was
Rs. 3-8-7 and the incidence of taxation R, 1-8-9, 'The
principal through roads are maintained by the District Board.
The town has not been definitely marked out into wards, but
falls naturally into three or four divisions. Of these the first
is the civil station containing the bungalows of officers and
clerks and the Government offices, and distinguished by the
large amount of open space. To the east lies the purely
agricultural village of Wadah included by reason of its
proximity to the waterwoiks in municipal limits, and to the
south lies Chuprasipura, a hamlet intended originally as its
name signifies for habitation by peons and orderlies, but
containing now several houses of a better class inhabited by
clerks and subordinate officers. Beyond this to the southward
again and separated from it by a small nullah lie the hamlets
of Fraserpura and Waddaipura inhabited by menials and
stonemasons respectively. Part of the Hamalpura of Amraoti
town also lies in camp limits.
There are excellent wells throughout the whole area, but
for Government offices and the civil
ater supply station water is supplied from Wadah
tank. This has a catchment aiea of about 2 square miles, and
a capacity of over fifteen million cubic feet. It was designed
for a daily supply of thirty gallons a head to a population of
2,000 persons, but there is unfortunately considerable leakage
and pumping operations from a well just below the tank have
often to be resorted to. In good years, however, the supply is
AilRAOTl TOWN
363
just sufficient ; and, as the water passes through excellent
filter beds before entering the main, absolutely reliable. In
the season a certain amount of shooting and fishing is to be
had on the tank but this is strictly regulated,
Amraoti Camp contains the headquarters offices both of the
Division and District, chief among
Public buildings. ,
which are the Commissioner s, Deputy
Commissioner’s and Conservator’s offices, the Civil and
Sessions Courts, a fine circuit house and a well equipped
civil hospital. The post and telegraph office is a branch
controlled from the head office m Amraoti town. The
police reserve lines have recently been completed. The
District Board has a fine office built throughout of trap, the
hall of which has been commonly used for darbars etc ,
though it IS now superseded by the larger one of the
Victoria Technical Institute at Amraoti. There is no muni-
cipal building but the committee meets in a room rented from
the District Board.
Amraoti Camp is essentially a modern place, with but little
in the way of history. Tradition has
ntiqu ties. known as ‘ Mai Tekri’
which commands the town, and incidentally serves as a
butt to the Rifle Range, contains buried treasure placed
there by the wealthy saJiuhdn of Amraoti in the old Pindari
times. The guns from which His Highness the Nizam’s
salute IS fired were cast in the ’forties and are now of
little use except for saluting purposes. To the east of the
civil station lies a small shrine known as Chilam Shah Wali,
and chuprasis and servants both Hindu and Muhammadan
generally ask for an evening’s leave early in the hot weather
to attend the Urs.
Amraoti Camp is the headquarters of a company of the
Nagpur Volunteer Rifles formerly the
Miscellaneous. . T,.n
Berar Volunteer Rifles, who have an
institute, a parade ground, a magazine and a rifle range. The
Officers’ Club is housed m an extremely comfortable building
having two tennis courts and overlooking the public garden.
There is a passable 9 hole golf course and cricket and hockey
364
ARJANGAON BARI — ANJAijGAON SUEAJ.
are played on the parade ground during the season. On a
stretch of grazing land managed by the municipality a race-
course has been laid out.
An|an£[aon Bari. — Amraoti taluk : 781 houses : population
2>979> is about 4 miles from Badnera, being the next station
on the railway line to Nagpur, and has an eighth standard
school and post ofhce. The majority of the inhabitants are
Baris and the town has extensive garden cultivation ( rnota-
sthal ), the two chief products being betel and plantains The
place, like Badnera, was atone time in the Peshwa’s Jagir,and
there are the usual rumours of bygone fighting in the neighbour-
hood, with a crumbling mud fort to bear witness to their
truth. The samadhi of one Sadhu Kamgir Bawa about a mile
away attracts a small fair annually in the month of December.
A tank was built m the neighbouring Chandur-Amraoti
hills during the famine of 1899-1900 about 3 miles from
Anjangaon,
Anjangaon Surji-— Houses 2,833. Population 11,881.
Two large villages (Anjangaon 8,783 inhabitants, Surji 3,098)
lying contiguously to one another in the north of the Daryapur
taluk and usually spoken of as a single town ; though for
revenue purposes Anjangaon is divided into eight hhek each
with a patel and Surji is also separate. Legend connects the
name of Anjangaon with Krishna’s triumph over Rukmaya,
and Surji, also known as Peth Muhammad Nagar after a by-
gone Musalman fahw, is said to be a corruption of sumnji a
tree with which the place was formerly overgrown. The
public buildings of the town include a police station, a sub-
registry, a dispensary, a Marathi and an Urdu boys’ school and
girls’ schools both Marathi and Urdu. A Bench of Honorary
Magistrates has been established here to try petty cases.
Betel is largely grown and sold in the neighbourhood and the
weekly bazar brings in a bazar cess of about Rs. 3,500 a year.
Weavers m large numbers live here and produce sdm, cholkh-
mas, dhoUs, Miadis, and turbans , four cotton gins have also
been established. The town is connected with both Darj Spur
and Elliclipur by District Board roads, being about 17 miles
rom either place. The road to Ellichpur is wwiraw-surfaced
AbADPUR.
3b5
and partially bridged. Anjangaon holds an important position
in Anglo Indian history for it was here that the second
Maratha. wai was concluded, the treaty with the Nagpur
Raja being signed on the 23rd December 1803. On the same
day the negotiations with Sindhia commenced, the British
being represented by no less distinguished a trio than Sir A.
Wellesley, Su J. Malcolm, and Mountstuart Elphinstone, and
the Maratha by Wattel Punt, ‘ Old Brag ’ as Malcolm called
him. It was he to whom Wellington afterwards compared
Talleyrand, saying that the great Frenchman was like the
Brahman ‘but not so clever.’ (See Kaye’s “ Life of Malcolm,”
VoL I. pp. 240 and 241). The treaty was concluded on the
30th December and was described by Lord Wellesley in a
private letter to his brother as ‘ a glorious and brilliant termi-
nation to the war and equal to the lustre of the campaign.’
The Deshpande family were presented with a copy of the
treaty in recognition of their hospitality : but this was un-
fortunately destroyed in 1850 by the Rohilla troops of Ghulam
Hasan Khan, Nawab of Ellichpur. This worthy was at open
war with the Munsiff of Akot, Saiyid Siraj-ud-dln Hasan.i
The armies met at Anjangaon and the Nawab was almost
beaten. His adversaries however turned to plunder and in a
plucky rally he won the day. ‘ Hundreds of Rajputs, ’ says
the local historian, ‘ were killed by the gun of Thomas Brown, ’
an adventurer in the service of the Nawab. Such was the
state of Berar three years before the Assignment. Sheonath
Rangopant the great Maratha poet and the religious teacher
was born at Anjangaon, but his fame was acquired elsewhere.
Asadpur. — Ellichpur taluk ; houses 442. Population 2,355.
A village lying a few miles west of Assegaon, consists of the
four hamlets of Shahpur, Raipur, Asadpur and Wasin, the
whole being sometimes known as Rangaswasni. Nizam Ali
Khan, Nizgm-us-Sani madea grant of most of the land in these
villages to one Mehtab Khan in 1763 A. D. for maintenance,
a,rid the Inam Commissioner in 1874 continued Raipur and
Shahpur as jagir to his descendants with 100 highas of land in
Atsadp.ur, inm. In 1889, owing to family quarrels, the
Aftarwards Sftdiii or Sessions Judge under British rul?,
366
\SSEGAON — BADNERA,
management of the jaglr villages was taken out of the jaglr-
dar’s hand and the land became therefore separate imm
survey numbers; Riasat All, one of the principal sharers m
the jagir, lives at Asadpur. There is a vernacular school and
post office, and a weekly bazar on Thursdays.
Asse^aon. — A village on the Amraoti-Ellichpur road i8
miles from the former place and just within the borders of the
Ellichpur taluk. The river Puma is crossed heie by a strong
bridge of four large spans The village has 145 houses and
758 inhabitants, and owing partly to its position as a half-way
house between the two cities, and partly to the energies of
Raibhan Patel, the public buildings, which include a dak
bungalow, an inspection bungalow, a ist class police station,
a sarat, a sub-registry and a school as well as the usual
ohmri and pound, are for so small a village unusually good.
The sub-registry is at present a rural one and is held by
Raibhan’s grandson. The patel’s house is a old semi-
fortified building of red brick.
Babhli- — See Daryapui .
Badnera. — Town in the Amraoti taluk, lying m 20’’ 52' N.
and 77"’ 46' E is situated at a distance
of 6 miles to the south ot Amraoti about
1,093 above the sea-level. It is on the Nagpur branch
of the Great Indian Peninsula Railway line, 413 miles from
Bombay and 107 miles from Nagpur. It is connected with
Amraoti by a branch of State railway 6 miles long.
In 1901 the population was lOjSjgagamst 9,916 m 1891, 6,460
in 1881 and 6,876 in 1867, a rise of
Population „ , ,
58 per centering 34 years There are
2,544 houses, Hindus number^iSy^Musalmans 2,1 59, Jains
119, Christians 167 and miscellaneous sects 227. It is stated
that the town was m a flourishing condition at the close of the
eighteenth century ; and its subsequent decadence tn the early
years of last century is said to be due to an impositit?JJ, of
Rs. 60,000 laid upon its patel (who was in the service of tluN
Bhonsla), which, though he himself evaded it by lligiit,
the inhabitants had to pay. To-day it is prosperous and
flourishing and from its convenient situation on the railway
b\dni:ra.
367
may be expected to attract many who might otherwise settle
m Amraoti.
It IS mentioned in the * Ain-i-Akbail ’ as the headquarters
of a pargana in the ‘ Sarkar ’ of GSwIl.
It IS known as Badneia Bibi as it
formed with Karanja. part of the dowry of Daulat Shah
Begam, daughter of Darya Imad Shah of Berar, who was
given in marriage to Husain Nizam Shah of Ahmadnagar.
Tradition however has identified the eponymous Bibi with
the heroic Chand Sultana and a small chunam shrine m the
fort is dedicated to that lady. The only piece of information
locally obtainable about her is that “after her death her
jagir lapsed to the Mughals.” From 1151 Fasli (1741 AD,)
Badnera was in the possession of the Nizam till 1182 Fasli
(1772 A.D ), when it came into the possession of the Peshwa
as a jaglr. In 1227 Fash (1817 A.D.) it was restored to the
Nizam. It was plundered in 1822 by RajarSm Snbah, who
partly demolished the fort and town walls. These had been
built by Salabat Khan and Bahlol Khan of Elhchpur, and the
fort, though outwardly only a mud garU, is really something
more, having subterranean chambers in it vaulted with brick,
and a house, now ruined, on the summit, the residence of the
former Naib Talukdars. The revenue was divided between
the Nizam and the Bhonsla in the proportion of 2 to i
The old town differs but little from any other in the
„ District except in the large amount of
Description. , , , , , r •
garden land with which it is sur-
rounded, a feature said to be due historically to a former
Patel and Chaudhri, Mahinaji who m 1640 brought gardeners
here at his own expense from Jalna, dug wells and induced
the inhabitants to take up wet cultivation. is grown to-
day in considerable quantities and in 1870 opium was still
cultivated. To the south and clustered round the railway
lies the new town, of which the junction with its small colony
of railway officials is the nucleus. A company of the znd
Battalion G I. P, Rly, Volunteers has its headquarters here,
and there are a rifle range, a railway dispensary and
institute, The Roman Catholics have a church with a
368
n \IKAGABH.
priest m residence and the Anglican chaplain also visits the
place. A Christian cemetery was laid out m 1869 at a cost
of Rs. 5.834 and close beside it is a Parsi cemetery , at a
distance of about a mile from the town is also a Tower of
Silence Government and District Board buildings include a
post office, a dispensary, a dak bungalow and a savai within
easy reach of the railway, also an Urdh and two Marathi
schools, a pound and a cJiawri, Previous to 1905 an Assistant
or Extra Assistant Commissioner was stationed here, who
combined the functions of first-class Magistrate, Subordinate
Judge, and Judge of Small Causes, but this post has been
abolished: the Court-house is occupied by the Government
Central Book Depot and the Magistrate’s former quarters
have been made over to the police, Badnera being a first-
class station under a Sub- Inspector.
The land revenue assessment is Fs. 5,700. There is a
weekly market held on Mondays at which vegetables, betel
leaves, plantains etc , are sold. The town contains two
ginning factories and a spinning and weaving mill ; of the
former one is owned by the Badnera Ginning Company and
the other together with the mills by the BerSr Manufacturing
Company A full description of this enterprise is given in
chapter V., ‘ Manufactures, ’ and it is only necessary here to
state that the annual outturn is valued at over eleven and
a half lakhs, and that the number of hands employed in igo8
was 940.
Baira^arh- — Houses 109. Population 517, A village in
the Bairagarh pargana of the Melghat taluk, inhabited chiefly
by Korkus , Muhammadans coming next in numbers and
various low caste tribes being also represented. It is 50 miles
distant from Chikalda vi 4 Sembadoh and 1 8 miles from DhSrm,
and has a small and unimportant weekly bazar held on
Mondays. Under the old arrangements, there was a second-
class police Station-house here with a head-constable and
three constables : this is now ranked as a ‘ road post ’ but the
change is merely an administrative one. The village lies in
centre of a small but fertile plateau of black cotton soil,
BAIRAM GHAT — BALGAON JAGIR OR WALGAON. 369
which IS one of the tracts selected for Settlement under the
orders recently issued.
Bairam Ghat- — A shrine in the Ellichpur taluk frequented
by the lower classes both of Muhammadans and Hindus,
‘ Although no town, the place is worthy of mention, on
‘ account of the great fair held there in October each year^
‘ and on account of its sanctity. It is situated about 14 miles
‘ east of Ellichpur, During the night of the fair more than
‘ 50,000 persons fiom all parts assemble, and sacrifices are
‘ offered before a rock, the Hindus on one side and Musalmans
‘ on the other This rock is approached by a long flight of
‘ steps. It IS a curious and authentic fact that, although
‘ thousands of animals are sacrificed in front of the rock, and
‘ the place is several inches deep m blood, there is not a fly to
‘ be seen. There is a tank said to contain water only every
‘ third year, which it is believed then comes from Benares.
‘ The water is exceedingly dirty, but a dip in it has potent
‘ effects ’. The description given forty years ago holds good
to-day ; but the popularity of the fair has if anything increased.
It now lasts not for a single night but for thirty days. Cattle
are brought from the neighbouring hills for sale and lacquer
work all the way from Northern India. More than 500 booths
are erected by neighbouring Bamas and shop-keepers and a
brisk trade is done. The rock is situated within the lands of
the little village of Karanja, and hard by are two well built
tanks of stone and mortar. It is 1 1 miles from Paratwada on
the road to Betul and is on the boundary of the District.
B&irat — The highest mountain in the Melghat division of
the Satpuras is situated some six miles from Chikalda, and
attains to a height of 3,866 feet above sea-level. Former
surveys gave the height at 4,200 and 3,989 respectively. On
the hill IS an old temple of Mahadeo Vairateshwar which is
said to be connected subterraneously with a temple of Devi
somewhat nearer to Chikalda.
B&lgaon Ja^fir or Wal^aon. — Amraoti taluk, houses 1,156,
population 5,284, a town on the Ellichpur road about 6 miles
from Amraoti Tovra and 5 from Amraoti Camp by the
District Board road known as the Red Road. The metalled
24
370 B\RUR — BEMRA RIVER
road to Chandur Bazar branches off here Balgaon is the
largest alienated village m the District, having been granted
in 1842 and 1850 by Maharaja Cliandulal Bahadur minister
and Raja Rambax for the upkeep of tlm temple of Su Sitaram
Mahsraj at Hyderabad The area is 5,893 aci es 3 1 and
the estimated rental at Government assessment Rs. 11,135-8,
but there are a niimbei ol atili-jagir tenants whose rights to
their holdings are protected as against the jagirditr the latter
cannot evict them except for non-payment ol rent nor can he
enhance the payment above Goveininent latcs. The old
at Balgaon has been converted into n temple of BalajT,
and the public buildings include a police road post, a District
lloaid clutmi and sam, and a Marathi school to which a post
office IS attached
Barur- —See Wai ud
Beltira- — TMuk Morsi. Population 2,056 Houses 341 .
There is an old Dlwankhana or cutcherry here dating fioni
Musalman times The tomb of Sadhu Punjaji Mali has an
utmm celebrated annually on Margshlrsh Paurnima when
abont eight thousand people collect here A small sect called
‘ Satya Shodhak Samaj ’ has been started among the Kunbis
locally under the leadership ol Yeshwantrao Khushahao Patel,
Its object is stated to be to encourage education among the
backward classes including Mahars and Mangs and to throw
off Brahman influence. The membeis of the sect do not
employ Biahmans at their domestic ceremonies,
Bemla River.— A river having its source near Karanja in
the Murtizapnr taluk of the Akola District. It floivs m a
north-easterly direction as far as Chakoia on the bordei
between Chandur and Murtizapur taluks and, forming a
boundary for a little distance as far as Pipalgaon, enters the
south-western corner of the Chandur taluk It then, flowing
in a south-easterly course two miles south of Nandgaon
Kazi and Damak, leaves the taluk after the confluence with the
Kholat from the north. The united streams form a fair-sized
river which, following the samecourse past Nandura in Yeotmal
taluk, meets the Wardha river about 5 miles north of Naigaon.
BE NODA — BIIILTEK.
371
The water is %'ery bitter and during the hot weather is only
met with in pools.
Benoda, — Houses 67, population 3,430, lies in the hTorsi
taluk fourteen miles east of the town on the roid to Pusla, and
has an inspection bungalow. The weekly bazar is held on
Saturdays. The only cotton gin in the place is owned by a
Marwari. There is a first-class police station under a
Sub- Inspector.
Bh&tktili. — Houses 558. Population 2,767. A village
about eight 'miles west of Aniiaoti on the banks of the Pedhi
(a tributary of the Puma), and connected with Amraoti and
Kholapur by a fair weather road. It has the usual weekly
baz.ai, combined school and post office, also a a large
proportion of the inhabitants being Muhammadan's. A few
Marwaris 1 ave become possessed of some land here through
foreclosure of mortgages. Bhatkuli has a temple to Rukinaya
who it is said settled m the village after his sister's enlevement
and his defeat by Krishna (see Amraoti) : but it is not
much frequented as Hindus consider it polluted by the
proximity of the Jain temple built about 200 years ago In
this IS a figure of the Saint Parasnath said to have been found
buried in the village garhi.
Bhiltek. •—An insignificant village in the Chandur taluk
with 54 houses and 230 inhabitants , its sole claim to notoriety
IS the fair which is held annually in honour of the god
Nagoba, and lasts from Paush shuddh pratipada (about the
end of December or beginning of January ) for nearly two and
a half months. On the first Sunday the attendance is about
1,000, but this increases to as many as 60,000 on the fifth
Sunday, after which the attendance gradually falls off. The
fair is however yearly dwindling in importance. Cloth
merchants and traders in copper, brass, and iron, attend ih
and country carts and cart-wheels are also sold. The temple
of the god is a plain olialmlm or platform with no super-
structure whatever, and it is believed that if a person who has
been bitten by a snake bums incense on this, with the
appropriate prayers^ and swallows a little of the ashes, he will
372 brahma nwada thadi- chandur taiuk,
recover. Probably but few of those who suivive to reach the
shrine and perforin this ceremonial have much reason to be
afraid.
Brahtnanyrada ThadL — Houses 764. Population 4,515,
A village in the north-east of the Elhchpur taluk situated on
the banks of the river Puma with a perennial water-supply.
There is some garden cultivation ; and black glass bangles of
rude malie aie produced. The Marathi school teaches up
to the sixth standard A bazai is held on Thursdays.
BtShmanwada Pathak close by is a small village with some
five hundred inhabitants
Chandrabhaga River.— Anver using at the foot of the
Gawllgarh Fort, flows m a southerly direction a few miles to
the west of Elhchpur town, draining the western portion of
the Elhchpur taluk as far as its southern boundary It then
enters the Daryapui taluk near its confluence with its
tributary the Sarpan, and flowing m a south-westerly
course past Bemli, Mahuh, Daryapur and Wanosa, joins the
the Phrna river at Dhamna khurd. It contains scarcely any
water except in the monsoon when it becomes a torrent, and
IS of little use to the country except in the capacity of a chan-
nel for draining the land. Its principal tributary is the Sarpan,
which flowing past the city of Elhchpur and Nizampur meets
the Chandrabhaga neai the boundary between Daryapur and
Elhchpur taluks. The water of the Saipan was utilized m
the old covered conduit which formerly supplied the city
Chandur Taluk. — The south-eastern taluk of the Amraou
Physical features between 20^31' and
N. and 77^40' and 78° 18' E., with
an area of 855 square miles or about 18 per cent, of that of
the District. It was formerly designated the Talegaon taluk
from the old tahsll town of that name which is most incon-
veniently situated at the extiemc south of the taluk. On the
completion of the railway Chandur was selected as being on
the line and the name of the taluk was altered accordingly ;
some of the southern villages were at the same time trans-
ferred to YeotmSl, The taluk at present contains 395 villages
CHANDUR taluk.
373
and towns, including one jagir village and two villages which
are wholly included m Government forest. The taluk is
bounded on the west by the Amraoli taluk and Murtizapur
taluk of Akola. District, on the south by Darwha and
Yeotmal taluks of Yeotmal District, on the east by the
Wardha District and on the north by the Morsi taluk, It
lies m the Payanghat or central valley of Berar and in
the valley of the Wardha river which bounds it on the
east, but the uniform fertility of these two tracts is varied
by the aridity of a low range of rocky hills which rises
in the vicinity of Amraoti and extends eastward along the line
of railway some distance beyond Chandur station. These
hills and a smaller range in the extreme south-west are of a
rocky and barren nature forming a sharp contrast to the
general fertility of the taluk , and the villages in the vicinity
where the soil is shallow are very dependent on timely rainfall
foi the production of good crops The taluk consists of an
undulating plain sloping from west to east covered for the
most part with black alluvial soil varying in depth from a few
inches on the tops of the ridges to many feet in low lying
situations. The eastern portion lying in the valley of the
Wardha river is by far the richest. The drainage of the
country is from west to east m the direction of the WardhS,
the only river of importance, which forms the eastern
boundary of the taluk. The taluk is not traversed by a single
stream of any magnitude, the only rivers being the Bemla and
the Kholat. They are not perennial and although they form
a fair sized river after their confluence, still during the hot
weather water is only met with in pools. These rivers after
entering the taluk flow m a south-easterly direction and leave
it at their confluence a few miles to the south of Talegaon ;
the combined stream under the single name of Bemla following
its course in the same direction in the Yeotmal taluk empties
itself in the Wardha river.
The population of the taluk in 1901 was 192,805 persons
„ , or about one-fifth of that of the District.
Population. , „ , , . „ > ,
In 1891 the population was 198,106 and
in 1881, 171,611. The increase between 1881 and 1891 was
374
CHANDUR TALUK.
nearly 15^ per cent., as against the District figure of g and the
decrease bet^veen rSgi and 1901 was neaily 3 pci cent as
against nearly 5 for the District as a whole. During the last
decade there were a series of bad years which culminated in
the famines of 1896 and 1899, and this for the most part is
responsible for the decrease in the population of this as well as
of the other taluks of the District. The density of population
is 226 persons per square mile. Excluding towns the density
of rural population is 198 per square mile. The bulk of
the population is purely agricultural, even the tradespeople
and artizans to a large extent supplement their earnings by
cultivating fields. The taluk contains 4 towns, Mangrul
Dastagir, Talegaon Dashasat, Chandur and Dattapur, and
391 villages of which 86 are uninhabited^ according to village
lists ; 13.29 per cent, of the total population live m towns and
8771 live in villages. Besides the above towns the following
12 villages contained more than 2,000 persons in igor : —
Amla, Ghuikhed, Talegaon Thakur, Teosa, Dhamangaon,
Nandgaon Kazi, Palaskhed, Malkhed, Mojhri, Warha, Wirul
and Kurha. There are also 37 villages in the taluk whose
population exceeds 1,000 persons.
Cotton and juar are by far the most important crops. At
^ . revision settlement ^ (1895-99) the total
Agriculture . , v
of the occupied assessed area com-
prised 459,150 acres, according to revision survey; of this
cotton covered an area of 193,395 acres or about 41^ per cent,
and juar 159,517 acres or 34 per cent. Rahi cultivation is not
of importance here being only i-ioth of the whole Wheat
then occupied 30,253 acres or 6-5 per cent, and the remaining
vah crops are insignificant m area. The irrigated crops
occupied 6,500 acres or about per cent, of the total occupied
assessed area. In 1906-07 of the 503,374 acies of village
area, excluding the area under State forests, 467,.! og acres or
about 93 per cent, were occupied for-cultivation. Of this the
^ See footnote, p. 353,
“ These figures arc the average annual figures for the settlement
period 1805-99.
CllANDUR lALUK,
total cropped area including double cropped area (only io6
acres) was 446,061 acres. The area under cotton' has largely
increased since revision settlement and m this year it occupied
2^13,256 acres or 54J per cent, of the total The area under
juan was 135,767 acres or 30-4 per cent., while the area under
wheal had much decreased, there now being only 18,113 acres
under it or about 4 per cent, of the cropped aiea There is
practically no paiastlial irrigation, whether from stream or
tanks and even that from wells {motasthal) has declined, only
1,776 acres being now cultivated by this method as against
6,500 acres at revision settlement.
At the original settlement the 394 villages of the Chandur
taluk were settled in five groups with
Land Revenue , , , ,
maximum dry crop standard acreage
rates varying from R. 1-30 to Rs. 2 The average rale
per acre cultivated however leaned from annas 10 to
R. 1-3-1 In grouping the villages with various acreage
rates the mam idea of the original settlement was to
divide the taluk into three portions , the first to consist
of the villages in the valley of the Wardha river containing
the richest soils, the second to include the villages, in
the vicimly of the railway, whilst the remaining villages
in the southern portion of the taluk constituted the thud
division. At the revision settlement (1895-1899) the villages
of the taluk iveie divided into 2 groups, the first group
consisting of 301 villages and the second 93 villages, v/ith
the maximum dry crop rates of Es. a-io-o and Rs. 2-4-0
respectively. The average rate per acre cultivated is for the
first group R. 1-7-10 and the second group R. i-io-ii. The
demand at the tune of revision settlement on the Government
occupied area of 459,229 acres according to the foimer
survey was Es. 3,79,562, giving an incidence of R 0-13-3
per acre, while at the revision settlement, the assessment on the
occupied area of 459,150 .acres according to revision survey
was increased to Rs. 5,79,280, giving an incidence of R. 1-4-2
per acre. The increase thus amounted to Rs. 1,99,178, being
1 Though land under eotton is single cropped, yet the harvest lasts
from November to March.
CIIANDUR a OWN.
376
52'6 per cent in excess of the existing demand. In 1907-08
the demand on account of land revenue and cesses was
Rs. 5,45,209, while the actual collections according to treasury
figures amounted to Rs. 5,46,828, the increase in the actual
collections being explained as due toarrear collections.
For purposes of land records the taluk has been divided
, into three Circle Inspectors’ circles
Miscellaneous. , , ,
with headquarters at Dhamangaon,
Nandgaon Kazi, and Kurha. It constitutes a single police
circle under an Inspector and contains 6 police Station-houses
each under a Sub-Inspector at Chandur, Nandgaon Kazi,
Talegaon Dashasar, Kurha, Teosa, and Dattapur. The
Chirodi forest reserve lies partly in this taluk and partly in
Amraoti.
Chandur Town. — Or Railway Chandur, as it is generally
called in distinction from Chandur Bazar, is the headquarters
of the taluk bearing the same name. In addition to the tahslli
and police station, a sub-registry, a post and telegraph office,
a dispensary and a Marathi school are located here. There
IS also a District Board veterinary dispensary and a Govern-
ment bonded warehouse for country liquor has recently
been built. The dkk bungalow is an old building, having been
used as a scirai before the present sam% was built. The cotton
market was established in 1895, under the control of a
committee of which the Tahslldar is chaiim«n and has an
income of about Rs. 2,000. Five cotton gins and three presses
with a petroleum dep6t complete the commercial aspect of the
place and the weekly bazar is held on Sundays. Good oranges
are grown m the gardens. The old town, which lies about a
mile to the north of the railway station, is unhealthy, being
situated on low ground close to a stream and frequently
visited by cholera and plague. The importance of the place
has increased since its selection as taluk headquarters and it
now boasts of a population of 5,700. A public library has
been opened and named after the King- Emperor. There is a
branch of the Alliance Mission here whose head, Mr. Ramsey,
did good work in the famine. There is nothing in the town
CHANDUR BA^AR
37 ?
to suggest antiquity; but it has been identified with a
“ Chandrapur ” which is mentioned in an inscription of the
Vakataka kings about the sixth century of the Christian era.
Such identifications must always be open to the gravest
doubt, but there aie several circumstances which tend to
show that the theory in this case is at least plausible.
Chandur Bazar • — Ellichpur taluk. Houses i ,094, popula-
tion 5,208. A town 22 miles north of Amraoti by a fully
metalled P. W. D. road and 14 miles east of Ellichpur by
District Board road. The bazar for which it is famous was
established by Namdar Khan, Nawab of Ellichpur, in whose
jagir it was, some ninety years ago , and though it has lost
much of its relative importance owing to the competition of
Morsi and Hiwarkhed bazars and to the practice of wholesale
firms in buying direct from the villagers instead of through
intermediaries is still the largest in Berar, the annual bazar
cess being over five thousand rupees. The C.P. border is only
eight miles away and large quantities of jagn, guv, wheat,
gum, etc., are brought in from the fertile highlands of Khamla
Multai and BetQl ; it is also a market for cattle. The market-
place IS well laid out with lanterns and water troughs and
large sheds for the storage of merchandise, and is planted
with Him tiees. There are several apparently prosperous
shops owned and managed by Bohras ; also two cotton ginning
factories. The public buildings include a Marathi school
teaching up to the sixth standard, with an English class
attached ; a fiist-class police station under a Sub-Inspector,
a sub-registrar’s office, and a dispensary with small hospital
accommodation ; also a P. W. D. inspection bungalow.
Speculation among the merchants leads to frequent insol-
vencies and there is now not a single trader of twenty years
standing. The bazar is held on Sundays Close to Chandur
is the large village of Shirasgaon Band. (Houses 631,
population 3,266). It has a combined school and post office
with a boarding house attached. The BrShman family of
Ganorkar own considerable property here, and one pf their
nunjber, Mr. M. B Ganorkar, pleader of Amraoti,, has kindly
supplied much of the information m this paragraph., ,
378 chendkapUr — chikaLda.
Chendkapur. — Daryapur taluk, 500 houses, 2,371 inhabi-
tants. Much of the land is mam in the hands of the
Ellichpnr Deshpande family. There are a few gardens in
which sugarcane is grown.
Chikalda- — The sanitarium of Berar is situated 3664
above sea-leveT m latitude 2i°24' N. and longitude 77^22' E.
The plateau occupied by the , Civil Station is only about
three-quarters of a mile broad and about a mile in length ;
but it has easy access to the spacious tableland surrounding
It and to many picturesque valleys, and there is ample room
for expansion A mile and a half to the south-west lies the
fortress of Gawllgarh , and Ellichpur, the nearest town of
any importance, is reached by a variety of roads and foot-
paths, the best of which, available even for motor-cars, winds
up through Ghatang and Silona amid fascinating scenery a
distance of 31 miles. There is a travellers’ bungalow at
Ghatang, which makes a convenient halfway halting place
Arrangements for tongas have to be made in Ellichpur. A
surface road vvA Dhamangaon and Mota 2 1 miles, marking the
track followed by a section of Wellesley’s force in 1803, is
available for cart traffic ; but this is not used in the rainy
season. It is probable, however, that at no very great cost
It might be made into an excellent thoroughfare. Travellers
in haste generally ride by the precipitous bridle-track which
passes near Wastapur and through the fort, and a small
stable has been built for their convenience at the foot
of the hill. By this the distance is reduced to fifteen miles
and the post runners have one or two foot-paths leading up
the cliff side through the fort which lessen it still further.
Apart from the fori, of which it commands several splendid
views, Chikalda has little or no history. It was discovered,
according to the Nttr-ul-Berar, by Captain Robinson of the
Hyderabad Contingent Battery m A.D. 1823, the very year in
which regular troops were first stationed at Ellichpur, but
bungalows were not built there, it seems, till 1839. Its
1 This is the most recent calculation of the Forest Survej. , the figure
formerly given by Mr. Mulherran was 3,777.
CHIKALD^.
379
popularity was very soon established and Meadows Taylor
mentions its delights as early as 1840 when he was here with
the troops; he visited Ellichpur again as Deputy Commis-
sioner on the gth December 1857 and notes ‘ How welcome
‘ were the large baskets of delicious peaches from Captain
‘ Hamilton’s garden at Chikalda ; and I wished I could go
‘ up there again and revisit the old scenes.’ The peach is still
cultivated in a few gardens at Chikalda though it has
degenerated very considerably since Meadows Taylor’s (ime.
Coffee of the very finest quality, however, is still grown in
private gardens especially on land belonging to the Roman
Catholic Mission. At one time a great future was anticipated
from coffee and tea plantations in Chikalda, some European
planters being attracted by the prospects of success, but the
tea has entirely disappeared and coffee is now only grown in
small gardens, There is a Government garden known
locally as the Company baglcha in which vaiious European and
tropical trees and shrubs, fruits and flowers are grown, the
great difficulty being the scarcity of water. In a wild state
roses, clematis, orchids, ferns and lilies succeed each other
with the changing seasons, and balsams, zinnias, wild ginger
and orchids also abound. The scenery is magnificent ; and
the eight ‘ points ’ of the station (see Map) command m turn
distant views of the Nimar and Mahadeo hills to the west
and north with wooded valleys lying closer at hand and to the
south a bioad outlook across the open plains of Berar to the
Bala ghat beyond. Footpaths, cut in the hill sides, afford
pleasant walks on the lower ridges, such as that which leads
to the Devil’s Punch Bowl or Andhera Khora (the valley ot
darknessi), a splendid deep chasm walled m by a circle of
cliflfs two to three hundred feet high, down one side of ivhich
m the rains tumbles a water-fall. Close by is a fine triple
echo. Mountaineers can exert themselves over many
precipitous pathways and can even climb a miniature
Matterhorn though one has to go more down than up hill to
reach it. Two miles away at the bottom of a secluded
valley, lies the Roman Catholic village of Mariampur.
380
chikAldA
The native village.
The Civil Station
In 1901 Chikalda had attained to 961 inhabitants and was
thus the most populous village m the
whole Meighat , it is possible, however,
that the figures are swelled by some early arrivals for the hot
weather from Elhchpur and elsewhere. Even the indigenous
population is largely dependent on its popularity as a health
resort, and consists mainly of Gaolls, Musalmans, Maharsand
Gonds, Korkus forming a comparatively small section. The
village IS divided into four quarters or puras, and a weekly
bazar of groceries and vegetables is held on Sundays.
' Between it and the Civil Station he the police station and a
Government school, the female orphanage and Mission house
of the Korkh Mission, a sarat and quarters provided by
Government for the Tahslldar and other officials
The European community is accommodated paitly in the
old Civil Station and partly in a smaller
settlement which has grown up on a
lower level round the Bir tank. There are about a dozen
bungalows of which two are owned by the Raja ot Makla,
one being used as his residence The order of St Francis
de Sales owns several bungalows which are let during the
season. For visitors making only a short stay, Chikalda has
an Officers’ Rest house, recently enlarged, and a Public Works
Department inspection bungalow. In the Civil Station lie
the Tahslli, the hospital and observatory, the post and
telegraph office, the veterinary dispensary and tho
Divisional Forest Office. The only Gazetted officers who
have Government bungalows m Chikalda are the Conser-
vator and Deputy Conservator, but the place is usually
visited in the hot weather by the Commissioner of Berar and
Other officers. The sanitarium is supported by an annuaL
grant of Rs. 5,000 from piovmcial revenues. The climate
has been fully discussed in Chapter I.
In days gone by when Chikalda was the summer head-
quaiters not only of the heads of
Atmisemenls. , , , ,r, ...
departments of the^Berar Admimstration
4lso of 'the Military from Eliichpur, Hingoli and elsewhere;
it was a place of considerable -gaiety, The band of one or
CHIKALDA
38T
other of the corps stationed at Ellichpiir used to play every
evening at Band Point, and the camping ground would be
covered with tents. To-day the greatest charm of the place
IS its quiet peacefulness, and the station has not inappro-
priately been compared to a small village in England. It is a
fairly cool retreat from the burning heat of the Berar plain
during the summer, but is at its best in October, when the
lull-sides are clothed in while clematis and there is a crisp
coolness in the air. Its wildest distractions do not run beyond
tennis and golf ; there are two excellent tennis courts in the
Government garden, both of which dry very quickly after
rains, and on the lower plateau is a golf course. Besides the
tennis courts is a trellis work summei house used during the
week as a pavilion and on Sundays as a Church. The plateau
and neighbouring valleys for a distance of three miles
form a sanctuary in which the shooting of birds or of horned
game is forbidden. Carnivora and destructive animals of
course are unprotected, and, as panthers and bears are fairly
common even within the Civil station, good sport is fairly
easily obtained.
The great difficulty of Chikalda which will prevent us ever
becoming a large hill station is the
Water-supply. . °
scarcity of water. There are six tanks
- ( Shakar, Kalapam, Dhobi, Machchhi, Nagjhira and Bir
Talao ), but the majority of these are a considerable distance
from the Station on the road to Gawilgarh, and are not
therefore of much use except to Dhobis. Such attempts as
have been made to provide tanks in the Civil Station, have
been failures. The Bir Talao which is situated on the small
plateau close to the Convent just beneath the Civil Station,
contains water throughout the year, but not of very good
quality for drinking purposes. An arrangment has been made
by which a limited supply of excellent drinking water is
obtainable, an underground reservoir holding 102,400 gallons
constructed m the Tahsili compound, into which after the
first showers have been allowed to wash the dust away, the
ram water from the Tahsih roof is drained. An additional
reservoir is shortly fo be constructed with a capacity of abodt
50,000 gallons.
383
DABHERI DARYAPUR TALUK.
Physical features.
Mr. J. Mulheran in his report on the Melghat m i86i
discusses the difficulty and expresses the opinion that by
sinking wells to a depth of 40 or 50 feet, water might easily
be found ‘ in great abundance throughout the year,’ but
attempts in this direction have not been successful.
Oabheri. — A small village of 26:5 inhabitants, not far from
Ridhpur in the Morsi taluk ; its chief claim to mention being its
tank, a stretch of water covering nearly go acres on which
excellent duck shooting may be obtained in the season. Situated
beside the tank is a temple of Dabheshwar held in reverence
by the Manbhaos. A member of the sect making the pilgri-
mage to Ridhpur is supposed to visit D.abhen also, and a fair
held on Chaitra Paumima is attended by about hfteen bundled
people. At Akhatwada, a small village close by, is a similar
temple of Rokdeshwar which is also a Manbhao shrine.
Daryapur Taluk. — The western taluk of the Amraoti
District, lying between 20°.^ 9' and
2i°2o' N. and yy'^11' and E.
with an area 505 square miles or io'6 per cent, of that of the
District. Dar3'5pur was fonneil) a taluk of the Ellichpur
District but was with the rest of that District incorporated m
Amraoti in August 1905. The taluk contains 273 villages
including one toivn, of which 266 are kJialsa, 6 palampat, and
I jaglr. It lies in the fertile Payanghat valley, being
bounded on the west and the south by the Akot, Akola and
Murtizapur taluks of Akola District, on the east by the
Amraoti taluk, and on the north partly by the extensive jungles
of the Melghat taluk and partly by the Ellichpur taluk. From
the Melghat border to the Puma river north to south Daryapur
IS some 28 miles. Its greatest bieadth from west to east is 26
miles but this diminishes both northward and southward,
especially in the former direction where the breadth of the
taluk on the Melghat boundary is only some 10 miles.
Daryapur presents to the eye an almost perfectly level
plain with only a slight inclination towards the south
unbroken by hills. In consequence of the very gentle
fall southwards in the direction of the Puma river
"the soil is able to retain the monsoon showers for a longer
DARYiPUR TALUK.
3«3
time than if the surface had been more undulating or the
slope j^reater, and the effect is an increased amount of fertility.
Some parts of the taluk contain large mango groves,
and there aie several valuable babtil bans. The Puma,
Chandrabhaga, Shahnur and Bordi rivers flow from north to
south. The supply in the first named is perennial, and in the
others there is flowing water until late in the hoi weather,
large pools remaining till the break of the rains. These
streams are of great importance to the taluk, for the wells
are generally very brackish, and river water is accordingly
preferred by the inhabitants for drinking purposes. They are
of little use agriculturally except in the capacity of channels
foi draining the land This important office is fulfilled by
them most effectually foi no stagnant water or marshes are to
bo found anywhere, notwithstanding the almost dead level of
the country. Except m the immediate proximity of the
larger rivers where the surface soil is much cut up and is
mixed with giavel and otherwise impoverished by the yearly
monsoon floods, the soils of the taluk are of a very superior
quality. They are somewhat friable yet very retentive of
moisture, and are capable of producing rich crops for a
succession of years without any artificial assistance.
The population of the taluk in 1901 was 114,698 persons,
Population. “ District.
In 1891 the population was 122,552
and m 1881, 123,109. During the two decades between
1881 and 1901 there was a decrease in the population; m the
first decade it was nearly J per cent., and in the second
decade when there was a general decrease in all the taluks it
was nearly 6^ per cent, as against nearly 5 for the District as
a whole. This decrease is the largest of all the taluks in the
District except the Melghat, which shows a falling-off of about
22 per cent. Bad seasons and the two famines together with
immigration to less fully cultivated places account sufficiently
for this decrease. The density of population is 227
persons per square mile, as against 170 for the District as a
whole. The density of rural population is 210 per square
mile, the highest figure of all the taluks in the District. Of
384
DARYAPUR TALUK.
the land available for cultivation only 12 acres remain
nncropped, and the limit of extensive cultivation has been
practically reached. There are very few important landholders,
holdings of one or two acres being the general rule, while
even smaller ones are common. The taluk contains one town
(Anjangaon) and 272 villages of which 22 are uninhabited'
according to village lists. About 8 per cent, of the population
live in the town and g8 per cent, live in villages. Besides
the one town the taliik contained the following 8 villages
which had more than 2,000 persons in 1901 — Kapiistalni,
Chendkapur, Daryapur, Babhali, Yeoda, ^Vadner, Sategaon
and Peth Mnhammadnagar, better known as Surji, the last a
suburb of Anjangaon, There were also 15 villages whose
population exceeds 1,000 persons.
The crops found here are cotton, juari, wheat, linseed, thr
. . and the betel creeper. This latter crop
Aenoultorc . .... ...
is grown successfully m the villages of
Anjangaon, Aiwajpur and Shahpur, and the betel leaves of
these places have some local reputation. By far the most
important crops are the cotton and juSii At the former
settlement juari occupied 38 per cent, of the cultivated land,
cotton 3 1 per cent, wheat 14 per cent., linseed 4 per cent.,
and gram and thr each 3 per cent. At revision settlement
( 1892-96 ) the Government occupied land was 285,4:4 acres
according to revision survey. Of this cotton occupied 1 1 2,5 1 9
acres or 40’2 per cent, showing an increase of 8 per cent,
since former settlement, juari occupied 75,0/5 acres or 26-2
per cent, showing a decrease of about 12 per cent. Thus a
large proportion of the area under juari cultivation had given
way to that of the far more remunerative cotton crop ; 42,724
acres or about 15 per cent, of the cultivated area were devoted
to wheat, practically the same as that at former settlement,
while the area under linseed had doubled, being about 10 per
cent. The area under all other crops together was no more
than 9-8 per cent, of the total. In 1906-07 of the 320,112
acres of village aiea ( excluding the area under State forests but
including that of palampal villages, ) 303,251 acres or about 94
» See note on p. 3 S 3 ,
CARYAPUR TALUK. 3$5
per cent, were occupied for cultivation. Of this the total
cropped area was 296,535 acres, the double-cropped area
included in it being only 10 acres The area under cotton
has much increased since revision settlement, and in 1906-07
It occupied 161,074 acres or more than 54 per cent, of the
total. The area under juari has fallen to 73,731 acres being
about 25 per cent., while wheal covers an area of 31,948 acres
or about 1 1 per cent., and linseed 6,144 acres or 2 per cent, of
the cropped area. The area irrigated is insignificant, being
only 585 acres
The 266 khalsa villages of the taluk were at the original
, , „ settlement divided into three groups and
Land Revenue o
settled as follows .—group I. consisting
of 99 villages with a maximum dry crop standard acreage
rate of Rs. 2-4 ; group II. of 135 villages with a rate of Rs. 2;
and group III. 32 villages with a rate of R. 1-12-0, The
average rate per acre cultivated, however, varied from R. i to
Ri 1-7-3. The first group comprises the large bazar towns
and the villages adjoining them as well as villages lying in a
peculiarly fertile tract of land, the second small bazar towns,
the villages adjoining them and all villages within a conve-
nient distance of the large bazar towns, and the third a
few villages which are either inconveniently far from the
bazars or are badly supplied with water At the revison
settlement all these villages without exception were included
in one group and a maximum dry crop standard acreage rate
of Rs. 2-10 was proposed, but the rate subsequently sanctioned
by the Government of India was Rs. 2-12-0 for the whole
taluk. The demand at the time of revision settlement on the
Government occupied area of 285,409 acres according to the
former survey was Rs. 4 , 74 i 347 giving an incidence of
R. I -10-6 per acre, while at the revision settlement, the
assessment' on the occupied area of 285,414 acres according
to revision survey, was increased to Rs. 5,79,183 which gives
an incidence of Rs, 2-0-1 per acre. The increase thus
amounted to Rs. 1,04,836 being 22’3 per cent, in excess of
^ This assessment was according to the proposed maximum dry
crop rate of Rs. 2-10-O,
3«6
fiARYAPUR.
the present demand. The revision settlement tooh place in
the years 1892-96 and the final announcement was made in
1903-04 and during this period there were some changes in
the revenue demand due partly to the raising of the dry crop
rate from Rs. 2-10 to Rs. 2-12 subsequent to the revision
settlement and partly to the application of revised acreage
rates to the 69 villages which were originally received from
Akot taluk and to which the revised rates were not applied at
the revision settlement. Therefore the demand of the taluk
in the subsequent years has increased. The land-revenue
demand for 1907-08 including cesses was Rs. 6,53,113 while
the actual collection according to the treasury figures was
Rs. 6,63,094, including arrears. The land-revenue demand
of the 6 pUmnpat villages in 1907-08 was Rs. 6,120.
Miscellaneous.
For purposes of land records the
taluk has been divided into three
Circle Inspectors’ circles with headquarters at Khallar,
Daryapur and Anjangaon. It constitutes a single police
circle under an Inspector and contains 4 Station-houses, each
under a Sub-Inspector, at Daryapur, Anjangaon, Rahiml-pur
and I^hallS^r.
Daryapur- — Houses 980, population 4,389. The head-
quarters of the taluk bearing its name, is situated on the
Chandrabhaga rivei, and is reached by a fully metalled road of
eighteen miles from Murtizapur ; also by a broad fair weather
road from Amraoti through Kholapur. Within half a mile of
It lies the large trading suburb of Wanosawith a population of
915 and close by is also the large village of Babhali with 2,707
inhabitants; a total for the three places of 7,111 persons.
Daryapur though not classed at the census as a town is a
centre of the cotton trade, having 5 gins and 3 presses ; its
cotton market is controlled by a local committee of which the
Tahslldar is chairman and has an annual revenue varying
from two to four thousand rupees. Its weekly bazar has a
cess income of Rs. 3,600. The public buildings of Daryapur
include besides the Tahsili, a Subordinate Judge’s and a
Munsif’s Court, a police station, a sub-registry, a dispensary.
bATTAPUR DItAMANGAON,
38V
Anglo- vernacular school, Urdu and Marathi primary bchools.
a girls’ school and a post office. There are temples to RSma
and Vithoba and two masjtds. A short distance out ol the
town on the M urtizapur road a hall has been erected in honour
of the King-Emperor’s accession, which contains the local
library. R B. Bhagwantrao Shankarrao Deshmukh, who is a
second-class special Magistrate, has a large house containing
some very handsome carving. The town derives its name
from Darya I mad Shah, the third of the independent Kings of
Berar (A. D, 1529-1560), who was its founder.
Oattapur Dhamang'aon.— In the Chandur taluk is a
town of great and increasing importance. Formerly the two
villages were separate, one lying to the south and one north
of the railway, but a large commercial suburb known as
Hordernganj after a former Deputy Commissioner has grown
up joining them together. The total population is 9,035 and
the number of houses 1,951 and a bench of magistrates with
third-class powers has been established. A first-class police
station, a sub -registry and a combined dak and inspection
bungalow may be mentioned among the public buildings, and
the railway station is now being enlarged to keep pace with
the increase of traffic. The cotton market which was
established m 1885 is managed by a committee and has an
annual income varying from two to four thousand rupees.
The Burma Oil Co., Standard Oil Co., and Asiatic Petroleum
Co. have branches here and there are seven gins and four
cotton presses. A weekly bazar is held on Sundays and trade
in cloth, grain and other articles is also carried on. The
supply of water is good, and the neighbourhood noted for its
toddy, iindl trees growing in abundance. The dalk line for
Yeotmal starts from here, and the station is therefore the
outlet for the commerce of that District. The leading inhabi-
tants are mostly Marwans including Seth Fatehlal Shaligram a
representative of the great firm of Sriram Shaligram. The
late Seth Ramcbandra Rampratap established a Rama Mandn
at a cost of Rs. 40,000 and endowed it with property for its
upkeep. Some of the leading merchants maintain a private
school in which the Sanskrit sacred books are taught.
3*8
PEOGAON — DlIAMANl Rl .
DeoS[aon, — A small and insignificant village at the foot of
the hills through which the so-called Wastapur short-cut from
Elhchpur to Chikalda runs ; between it and the fort a small
stable has been established at the foot of the hill to
accommodate ponies for travellers using the path. The sole
claim to distinction which Deogaon possesses is that
preliminaries of peace between the East India Company and the
Bhonsla (or “Bouncello” as the English chronicles of the
day called him) were signed here on the 19th December 1803,
four days after the capture of Gawilgarh by Wellesley of
Lmgva Wash as he is known in Berar.
Dewalwara or Deurwada- — Elhchpur taluk, houses
262, population 1,515. A village on the Purna, about 14
miles from Elhchpur, was no years ago a town of much
importance, containing some 5,000 houses, and a large
Brahman population , and the taluk authorities used to
reside there. Now it has become an insignificant village,
but IS worthy of notice on 'account of its ancient buildings.
Dewalwara is, according to Hindu mythology, the place
where Narsinha, after killing Hiranya Kasipu, was able,
after failing everywhere else, to wash the blood-stains from
his hands. There is a temple and idol of Narsinha which
has been there from time immemorial, with steps to the
river, and a ghat. Near this is a place now called Kar
Shuddhi Tirth or the holy place of cleaning hands. There is a
temple to Vitthal Rukmaya built in the time of SalSbat
Khan by one Mahadeo Rao Lalcshman of Nagpur, at a cost
of Rs. 15,000, also a masjti built some three hundred
years ago.
Dhamangaon. — Elhchpur taluk, houses 410, population
1,826. A village on the shorter Elhchpur -Chikalda road,
from which the ascent of the hill begins. It lies about 6
miles from Paratwada and has a weekly bazar on Wednes-
days which serves the neighbouiing tracts of the Melghat.
Idas a considerable cultivation of chillies.
Dhamanslaon. —See Dattapur.
Dhamantri.— A small village of 343 inhabitants situated
on the banks of the river Wardha just noith of Kaundmya-
pur. On rising ground in a small babul ban to the south of
DHANORA — DHABNI.
389
it IS a very ancient temple of Mahideo. The original
structure was to all appearances Hemadpanthi, but it has been
repaired at various subsequent periods in different styles. At
present some Bairagis from Benares have taken possession
of it and aie putting it in order; they have built themselves
a small house close by. Hemad Pant, who appears in reality
to have been minister to one of the Chalukyan kings, is the
putative architect of almost all the temples in this part of India
of which the origin is obscured by time, though the hue
Hemadpanthi or Chalukyan building is one of laige blocks of
stone carefully dressed and adjusted without apparently any
cement, or at least with very little of it. The style is that
of primitive builders, who distrusted the arch and laid massive
stone Imtels over monolithic pillars. Legend declaies that
Hemad Pant was a mighty wizard who was compelled by the
devil to find employment for a crew of demons during a
whole night To build temples without mortar seemed an
interminable kind of job, but these ghostly engineers had
finished before cock-crow. Readers of the “Lay of the Last
Minstrel’’ will recollect that Michael Scott when faced with a
similar difScully was more successful ; he outwitted the foul
fiend by setting his devils to make ropes of sand
Dhanora- — Houses 70, population 242. A small village
on the banks of the river Puma, m the Ellichpur taluk, has
an old temple dedicated to Sundar Nari,yan, at which a fair
IS held every year in the month of January or February.
The place is otherwise of no importance
Dharni- — Houses 142, population 731. The largest
village m the Melghat is situated m the Amner pargana, and
forms the present terminus of what will shortly be the high
road through the hills from Ellichpur to Burhanpur. It is
68 miles from the former, and 60 from the latter town. A
weekly bazar is held every Friday. The population is
a mixed one, the Korku element being the most numerous ;
the Korku and Central India Hill Mission has succeeded m
gathering together a small congregation. Foreigners are
represented by a few Bohra moneylenders from Burhanpur,
who have settled m the place. Government buildings include
a first-class police station m charge of a Sub-Inspector, a
390 KU.ICHPt'R SUBDIVISION — EI.UCHI’UR TALUK,
P. W. D. inspection bungalow, a branch post office and a
school. There is also a bonded warehouse for the sale of
country liquor, built by Government and placed under the
control of a Sub- Inspector of Excise. The soil is very fertile
and with improved communications, and the advantages of the
forthcoming settlement, it may well develop into a place of
some importance. Its climate has a very bad reputation for
malaria ; but is said to have improved somewhat of late years
owing to the clearing of the land for cultivation
Ellichpur Subdivision.— Area 2,605 square miles,
population 297,403, land revenue Rs. 12,77,502, consisting of
the Ellichpur, Daryapur and Melghat taluks, was from 1867 to
1905 a separate District of the BerSr administration. It is
now held by a Subdivisional Officer and Magistrate who
has full control over the magisterial and revenue staif ; there
are also a Subdivisional Assistant or Deputy Superintendent
of Police, and Public Works and Medical Subdivisional
officers, the latter having charge of a civil hospital. A
Subordinate Judge and two munsiffs arc stationed at Ellichpur,
and a Subordinate Judge and a munsiff at Daryapur; there is
also a joint Deputy Educational Inspector. The Subdivision
contains two Municipalities (Ellichpur City 26,082 and
Ellichpur Civil Station 10,410) and 5 otliei towns namely
Anjangaon (8,783 with Surji 11,881), Shirasgaon Kasba
(6,537). Karasgaon (7,456), Chfmdur Bazar (5,208) and
Daryapur (4,389 or with Wanosa 5,304). The headquarters
of the Subdivision are at Ellichpur Civil Station, For
further detail reference should be made to the sections on
Ellichpur, Daryapur and Melghat taluks.
Ellichpur Taluk. — Formeily the headquarters taluk of
Physical features, Ellichpur District but Since August
1905 a taluk of the Amraoti District
lying between 21%' and 2i‘’24' N. and 77^2^' and 77°^$ E.
with an area of 469 square miles. The taluk contains 31 1
villages and towns of which 7 are jagir. It lies m the
Payanghat at the foot of the Satpura hills and is bounded on the
north by the Melghat tMuk and the Bctfil District of the
Central Provinces ; on the west by the Daryapur taluk, the
, Amraoti andMorsi taluks form the boundary on the south and
east, The taluk is compact in shape, averaging 24 miles from
EM.lCnPlTR TALUK.
391
east to west by about! 6 miles from north to south and is the
smallest of all the taluks m point of size. The face of the
country is perfectly level, although here and there deeply
indented by the rivers and freshets that find their way down
from the Satpura hills. The best camping grounds m the
District are here. The soils here are very fertile, quite equal to
‘those in Akot and Daryapur. In spite of the great demand for
wood fuel of recent years, many parts of the taluk are still
well wooded, and theprospect fonnstance in the neighbourhood
of Pathrot or of Brahmanwada is an extremely pleasing one.
There is scarcely a village which cannot boast its grove of trees,
and the general prosperity and high standard of cultivation pre-
vailing afford a satisfaction to the eye which verges on monotony.
Water in many places lies close to the surface and maintains
a certain amount of moisture in the soil, by which the country
has been enabled to weather the severe famines of the last
decade with comparative success. The climate m the greater
part of the taluk is healthy throughout the year, though the
heat IS very trying in April and May , the villages in the north
of the taluk lying under the hills are feverish during the last
three months of the year. The principal rivers which drain
the taluk are the Chandrabhaga and the Puma. The banks
of both are too high to make irrigation practicable unless
very large works were erected for which again the supply of
water would not suffice. Such as they are, however, they ale
a great boon to the country as the water is good and lasts
throughout the hot season. The Sarpan, a tributary of the
Chandrabhaga, flows past the city of Elhchpur and formerly
supplied the city with water by an aqueduct. There is an
old and ruined dram of similar construction known as the
“ Satbudld," or seven wells, near the village of Datura, which
was formerly used for the irrigation of garden lands in the
neighbourhood. Legend connects its origin with the supply
of water to the now empty tank of the Hauz Kalora.
The population of the taluk in igox was 146,035 persons
„ , „ or 18 per cent, of that of the District.
Population. T n , t •
In 1891, the population was 146,215,
and in 1881, 148,041. Thus for the twenty years ending
1901 there has been a steady but slight falling-off in the
population ; in the first census period it was i.z per cent, and
392
ELLICIIPUR TALUK.
m the second only o.i per cent. Thus between 1891 and
I go I the decrease was not only less than m any other
taluk but less than in Ellichpur itself during the previous
decade, a sinking proof of the richness of the country,
and of its power of resistance in bad times. In the original
Settlement Report it was pointed out that the population
was moie than the land could fairly bear, and emigration
to less cultivated tracts was predicted. Though we need
not agree with the Settlement Officer that Ellichpur is
incapable oi siipportuig a larger population than it had
forty years ago, yet it is obvious that with the pressure of
population on the soil so much greater than it is in
neighbouring tracts scarcely less fertile, the opening up of
communications was bound to bring a decrease , and such
has been the case both in Ellichpur and Daiyapur. The
density of the population is 311 per square mile, being the
highest figure of all the taluks in Berar , the density of the
rural population is 193 persons to a square mile. Cultiva-
tion has practically reached its utmost extent, only 113 acres
remaining available for the purpose and not yet taken up.
The taluk contains the 5 torvns of Ellichpur, ParatwSda,
Sirasgaon, Chandur Bazar and Karasgaon, and 306 villages
of which 77 are uninhabited^ according to village lists; 38.14
per cent, of the population live in towns and 61.86 per cent,
live in villages. Besides the above towns the taluk contained
three villages which had more than 2,000 persons in 1901 :
Asadpur, Brahmanwada Thadi and Sirasgaon Bund. There
were also 16 villages whose population exceeds 1,000 persons.
The culture of the ground is carried on somewhat more
Agriculture. carefully here than in Amraoti, in con-
sequence perhaps of the greater value
of the land, but the area under irrigation is none the less small
in extent. The principal crops grown are ]uari, cotton, tui
and wheat. At the original settlement juari occupied 39
per cent., cotton 40 per cent,, tur 7 per cent, and wheat 3
pel cent, of the cultivated area. At the revision settlement
(1893-97) the total Government occupied land was 241,327
acres. Of this juan occupied 96,009 acres or 38.1 percent,
cotton 107,101 acres or 42.4 per cent, wheat 11,568 acre s
* 0ee note, p, 3S3,
ELLICHPUR TALUK.
393
or 4.6 per cent, and tur 9,584 acres or 3.8 per cent. As
usual in the black soil plains the chief crop cultivated is
cotton and it had gamed by about 2| per cent, while juari,
the staple food gram of the people, had lost by about i per
cent. These two crops account for foui -fifths of the total
area leaving one-fifth foi other crops. The area devoted
to mbi cultivation was only 9 per cent., more than half of
this being occupied by wheat. In a large extent of land
bordering on the hilly countiy to the north, cotton and juari
are the only crops grown, the soil being too shallow to
retain sufficient moisture for mbi cultivation. In 1906.07
the total village area excluding State forest was 279,383
acres. Of this 257,479 acres or 92 per cent, were occupied
for cultivation. Out of this the total cropped area was
248,296 acres, there being no area under double crop. The
area under cotton has much increased since revision settle-
ment, and m this year it occupied 145,851 acres or about
59 per cent, of the total cropped area The area under juari
has fallen, being only 64,035 acres or about 26 pel cent ,
while the area under wheal was 9,585 acres 01 about 4 per
cent., and tui 16,395 acres or about 7 per cent, of the
cropped area. The irrigated area was only 1,638 acres during
the year.
The 304 Government villages which form the Elhchpur
Land Revenue were, at the original settlement,
divided into three groups and settled
with maximum dry crop standard acreage rates varying from
R. I -12 to Rs. 2-4-0 The average rate per acre cultivated
however varied from R. 1-7-3 to R. 1-14-3. principles
adopted in grouping the villages depended upon their prox-
imity to the large bazar towns and villages for the first and
second class groups, while m the third class were placed the
more remote villages and some lying within the spurs of the
hills and having a bad climate, although within easy reach of
the small bazars. At the revision settlement the facilities
for communication were found to have rendered the villages
independent of the larger market towns and hence the whole
of the villages of the taluk were thrown into one group as
had been done with the Daryapur taluk, and the rate sanc-
tioned and imposed on Daryapur, viz, Rs, 2-12, was fixed.
394
CLUCHPUR
At the time of the revision settlement the demand on the
Government area of 241,262 acres according to former
survey was Rs. 4,05,217, giving an incidence of R. i-io-io
per acre, while at the revision settlement the assessment on
the occupied area of 241,327 acres according to revision
survey was increased to Rs. 5,28,486 giving an incidence of
Rs. 2-3-1 per acre. The increase m revenue thus amounts
to Rs. 1,23,269 being 30.4 per cent, in excess of the previous
demand. The demand on account of land revenue including
cesses in 1907-08 was Rs. 5,59,131 while the amount actually
collected according to treasury figures during the year was
Ks- 5.43.347-
For purposes of land records the taluk has been divided
Miscellaneous Inspectors’ circles
with headquarters at Sirasgaon Kasba,
Pathrol and Ellichpur. It constitutes with the Melghat a
single police circle under one Inspector and contains 5 Station-
houses, each under a Sub- Inspector at Ellichpur, Chandur
BazSr, Pathrot, Sirasgaon Kasbft and Assegaon.
Ellichpur City. — The headquarters of the Ellichpur
taluk and former capital of Berar, is situated in 21° 16^ N.
and 77“ 33 E. about 1200 feet above sea-level. It lies
rather more than 30 miles to the noith-west of Amraoti and
has an area of 8 square miles and a population of 26,082
persons. In 1891 the figure was 26,636; in 1881, 26,728, and
in 1867, 27,782, so that there has been a fall of 6 per cent,
in 34 years, and the city, which formerly took the first place
m Berar now stands only third on the list. Further
decadence only a radical change in the economic conditions,
such as the introduction of a railway (which has been mooted,)
can hinder, and even in that event it is possible that the
Civil station with its timber market, rather than the city
would reap the chief benefit.
Ellichpur City Municipality was created in July 1869 and
Municipality, Committee to-day has twenty-four
members, all nominated by Govern-
ment, The aveiage annual receipts and expenditure for the
sixteen years ending 1906-07 were respectively Rs, 20,174
and Rs. 19,748. In 1907-08 the income was Rs. 20,647
4 erived mainly from taxes (Rs. 14,083), from fees and
EIUCHPUR CITV.
395
municipal properly (Rs. 5,315) and from grants (Rs. 1,117).
The incidence ot income per head of population was
R, 0-12-8, and of taxation R. 0-8-8. The expenditure
during the same year amounted to Rs. 29,029, the principal
heads being drainage, sanitation, roads, conservancy, public
instruction, and establishment charges. The taxes are
direct and, as elsewhere m Berar, the Committee appears to
find very great difficulty m its collections. There is a Bench
of Magistrates with second and third class powers.
No works have been undertaken in modern times for the
Water supply. supply of water which is obtained by
the people from wells and from the
livers Sirpan and Bichan, which flow through the town.
There is still m existence though no longer in working order
an underground conduit of earthen pipes by which the oldest
quarter of the town (that between the Dulla DarwSza and the
Barkul gate) was formerly supplied with water from the
Bichan, that river having been dammed at a spot above the
city in order to make a reservoir. It is thought that these
waterworks which were constructed in the reign of Ahmad
Shah Wali Bahmani (A.H. 829, A.D. 1425) could be
restored at small cost, and the question is now under discussion
m the municipality.
In the high day of its prosperity, with a lavish court in its
Trade and manufactures. Ellichpur was the important
centre of cotton and silk manufactures,
and had a reputation also for woodcarving and stone work
which is borne out by the remains To-day the latter industry
is almost extinct, and those of weaving and dyeing, though their
followers are still numerous, are steadily on the decline. The
carpets made here though rough are of a strong texture and
find a ready sale all over the District ; khddts, ntmals, Jiagns and
patMs, sans with silk borders and sims are also produced, but
the trade is in a bad way, for the earnings of a Koshti do not
exceed those of an unskilled workman, and his goods are
being steadily ousted from the market by those of the power-
loom. The M dyeing of Ellichpur was formerly famous, but
this also is on the wane. The castes connected with these
industries are the first to exhibit signs of distress in times of
scarcity and require the promptest attention, To-day the mast
396
ELI-ICIIPIJR CITY.
Public buildings.
important industry as elsewhere in BerSr is that of raw cotton,
the income and expenditure of the cotton market m 1907.08
being Rs. 1,2011 and Rs. 672 respectively. Sooner or later
almost all the cotton finds its way to Amraoti, and the traffic
over the high road to that place during the season is enormous,
ior, though thete are 3 ginning and one pressing factory m
Tilhchpur employing in all some 380 persons, most of the
cotton is taken to Amraoti m the law state, and dealt with there.
In the village lists and settlement papers Elliclipur appears
as divided into eleven Itheh or immds,
each of which bears a Hindu name,
being that of the family holding the patelkl, e.g, Khel Japmali,
Khel Trimbalr NarSyan, and the like. The history however of
Ellichpur is distinctly Muhammadan, and this is reflected as
one might expect in the nomenclature of the place. The town
was at one time surrounded by 34 pums or suburbs, of which
about 35 exist at the present day, and the names of nearly all
are of Musalman origin Some are within and some outside
municipal Imuts , a few of the most important are Shamast-
pura formed by Shamast Khan in 1724, Sultanpura by Sultan
Khan about the same time, Anwarpura named after Anwar
Khatdn, Salabat Khan’s wife, Namdar Ganj, Naslbputa,
Abbaspura, Jivanpura, and Rikabcili, Lhc las' -named being the
headquarters of a bazar formed by Salabat Khan to accompany
him on his military expeditions. There is no doubt that
Ellichpur was in the past a very large and prosperous city,
and it IS said at one time to have contained 40,000 houses, Its
prosperity depended upon two things, the presence of the
court and the position of the city at one end of ivhat must
always have been a considerable, if not one of the most
important, trade routes through the hills to Notthern India.
The court has vanished and the lailway has diverted all trade
elsewhere, the importance of Ellichpui is daily declining and
its interests are mainly of the past.
The history of the city is the history of Berar 1 1 is given
m full in Chapter II., and there is no
need to repeat it heic.^ The town is
I Since that chapter was written R. B. Hiralal has found in Betul
district a copper plate inscription in which the town of Achalpur
(identiBed by him as Ellichpur) is mentioned, and a similar reference
090ijrs in tfie Prakrit literature of th? Jains , see Chapter II. section 28,
Antiquities.
ELLICHPUR CITY
397
full of old buildings of greater or less impoitance, which bear
testimony to its fortunes under different rulers. Its earliest
Muhammadan invaders aie commemorated fitly enough in the
bare but stately Idgahof Sultan Imad-ul-Mulk (A.D. 1347),
the nephew of Muhammad Tughlak/ in the Jami Masjid
dating from the same era (but subsequently restored by Ah
Mardan Khan in the time of Aurangzeb), and mthe Bharkul
gate. This is a massive erection of stone divided into outer
and inner wards and leading into the still older mud fort
which dates from Hindu times. The gate has many carved
stones in it, taken perhaps from some pillaged temple, and
from its situation in the middle of the city is a favourite
‘coldharbour’ in the hot weather. From about the same
period must date the Hauz Katora, a ruined octagonal tower
of brick, mortar and sandstone, about two miles to the west of
Ellichpur. The architecture of it is in the style known as
Pathan, and the tower stands in the midst of a circular tank
whose diameter is about 100 yards and depth about 15 feet.
The tower stands 81 feet in height and has three stories ; it
IS said that a fourth and fifth were removed by one of the
Nawabs to provide materials for his own palace. The
nmavs were in rums in the time of Akbar. To-day the
tank IS nearly empty and the whole edifice long past
repair.
The Bahman Shah dynasty and their iavafddrs of Berar
have left but little in the way of memorial. To the Bahraanis
we owe the water-course already mentioned, the Darus Shafa
Masjid (A.D. 1340) and one or two unimportant minor
buildings. From the same period dates the most famous of
all the Ellichpur antiquities, the tomb of Dulha Shah Abdul
Rahman GliSzi Ghaznavi. The legend tells of a wandering
■Muhammadan fakir who was maltreated by Raja II of Ellich-
pur and fled to Ghazni to appeal for help The great
Mahmud’s nephew was celebrating his bridal when tlic holy
man ariived: but he left the feast to lead a. phdd from beyond
the Himalayas to the punishment of the blasphemous king
and died fighting as a good Muslim should amid untold
' So says local tradition which has digniiied him with the title of
‘‘ Sultan.”
feLLICIIPUR CITV
daughter of the inhdel, cutting off, we are even told, his own
head to make the victory secure. To-day Hindus as well as
Muhammadans pay homage at his tomb, and it would bo little
short of atheism in Ellichpur to hint a doubt of his ever
having existed. The buildings are picturesquely situated on
the north-easterly bank of the Bichan about one mile from
the city and fiom a distance look almost imposing with the
two great archways, the small lantern window overhanging
the river and a cluster of white domes behind. On closer
scrutiny they are very disappointing, the apparent stone lace
work IS merely a mass of bricks and tiles placed edgeways
and whitewashed; the arches have been daubed over m a
variety of hideous colours by the illiterate and filthy miijawm
who attend the place; and the whole effect is indescribably
petty. Passing in through the large gate one finds a spacious
courtyard containing the graves of many forgotten worthies
small and great. There is one m particular which has some
very creditable stone tracery. Close at hand on the right
lie the houses of the attendants and on the left a small masjid
built originally by Shbahdar Miyan Manz'hr, two hundred
years ago, but restored by Ghulam Husain the last of the
Nawabs. Through this one enters the holy of holies, the
innermost court wherein are the resting places of the GhSzi
himself and of his mother Malika-i-Jaban. These are said
to have been erected by Safdar Khan Sistani, the lieutenant of
Ala-ud-din Hasan, the first Bahmani Shah. They are covered
with a mass of tawdiy coloms and are m no way interesting;
the silver doors which they possessed forty years ago have
been stolen, and though on one occasion recovered by the
police have since vanished The largest enclosure of all is
surrounded by a sandstone wall built by the brothers Raghuji
and Madhuji Bhonsla of Nagpur m alternate thankoffering
for their successes over one another. The east gate built
by Madhuji is the only erection in the whole crowd of build-
ings with any pretension to architectural beauty. It has a
flight of stone steps on either side leading to a broad
MmJtdan on top. Half way up each flight is a small domed
halting place. The bdmhdan has six windows and two doors
and IS surmounted by four small mindrs. Each gate of
the wall has a Peisian inscription commemorating its builder.
ELLICIlPUR CITY.
399
Just outside the Dargah two hundred yards from the west bank
of the Bichan lies a small but elegant cylindrical sandstone
dome supported upon white marble pillars : it is commonly
known as the Mom Jom Gumbaz and commemorates the
infant daughteis of Ahmad Shah Wall’s Vazir who died here.
After the fall of the Bahraani dynasty, the architectural
history of Ellichpur is a blank for several hundred yeais. The
Iraad Shahi rulers, though they hold the proud position of
having been the only independent kings of Berar, were in
truth but insecurely seated on a tottering throne. Gawilgarh,
with its strong walls and precipitous approaches, was a
capital far more to their liking than the ill-defended Ellichpur,
and they have left no memorial. The Nizam Shahs were
busy elsewhere, and the stir and turmoil of the Mughal
invasions of the Deccan left but little tamo for building. A
few relics remain of the reigns of Akbar and Alamgir; of the
former is the well or low-level reservoir known as Mamdal
Shah and said to have been built by Man Smgh, Raja of
Jaipur. It has a platform where its princely owner could sit
and be cool in the hot weather and niches opposite for the
musicians to make him merry : but the water is so infested
with mosquitoes that it is difficult to believe anyone can
really have found pleasure in such an entertainment. Alamgir
is represented by the Chauk Masjid and a smaller mosque
both built by Shayasti Khan or Muza Beg Khan as he is
also called, by the municipal office formerly a Diwan Khana,
and by the restoration of the Jami Masjid. But the domes
of the last-named edifice have long since fallen m and it looks
again for the pious patron to renew it. Khan-i-Zaman Khan’s
aspirations are mentioned elsewhere (v. Khanzamanagar).
But the most princely of all the dynasties that have
ruled in Ellichpur was that of the Nawabs of Sultan Khan’s
house, and though they were themselves the subordinates of
the Nizam of Hyderabad they have done more to beautify
the city than all previous dynasties combined. In their tame
too private munificence, whether that of other rulers such as
Madhuji Bhonsla or of private persons, seems to have been
turned to building and to such efforts we owe the Hindu
temples of Balaji and Ramchandra and the dome of Shah
ELLICHPUR CITY.
J^OO
Ismail Fakir. Sultan Khan, the first of this dynasty, built
about 1754 the fort at Sultanpura, a strong edifice of sand-
stone on the south bank of the Saipan river. The approach
IS covered by a flanking wall and the outer gate stands at the
head of a steep approach. The fort was used in the eaily days
of British administration as a jail, and is still though much
dilapidated a place of considerable strength. Sultan Khan’s
son was Ismail Khan, the greatest of the Nawabs, whose
lofty ideas are clearly expressed in the strong sandstone wall
which he built round the city. To-day much of it has
crumbled away but enough remains to show that the prince
regarded beauty as well as strength. The wall is studded
with carved stones (said to have been taken from the ruined
Jain temples of Raja II though their new appearance gives
the he to this), its gates are richly ornamented, and one at
least of its hhtrkls or foot-gates, that just north of the Dulha
Darwaza, is extremely graceful. To the same ruler and his
sons Bahlol and Salabat Khan we owe the commencement of
the Nawab Mahal. It consists of a multiplicity of buildings
of which many have fallen into decay. The four great
courtyards with their deep verandahs and beautiful carving
both in wood and stone remain. Two of them are still used
as dwelling houses by the representatives of the family, and
two are lent to Government for schools. Ghulam Hasain
Khan, the last of the line, built a large Imambara , but the
most beautiful of all the buildings m Elhchpur is the cemetery
of the Nawabs in Sharmastpura which contains a stately
dome of Ismail Khan and various small buildings, and some
very fine jali stone lattice work. The whole is surrounded
by a strong wall with two lofty gateways. Close by is a small
mosque and cemetery, dating from older times which also
contains one or two handsome tombs. All the Nawabs were
fond of gardening, and Elhchpur is surrounded by the relics of
many handsome gardens. Perhaps the finest is the Namdar
Bag, not far from Dulha Rahman’s Dargah: it is surrounded
by a wall and has a magnificent well for irrigation while one
or two fine trees are still standing. Probably it could still be
restored at small cost, and it would be worth restoration . at
present the ground is occupied by a cotton gin. Finally,
mention should be made of the graves of bygone English
ELLICHPUR CIVIL STATION,
401
soldiers at Ellichpur. Just outside the north wall a marble
slab commemorates Thomas Drew, “who ior many years
commanded a Brigade in the service of Salabut Khan
Bahadur, Nawab of Ellichpur.” He died in 1815. Close to
the Municipal office are buried Lieut.-Colonel Kenny and
another who died in Wellesley’s assault on Gawilgarh, and
beside the Idgah he Major Lane and Captain Grant, who
succeeded Major Drew in the command just mentioned ; the
marble slabs of these last four have long since been filched
from the masonry and are probably being used as curry
stones in some frugal cultivator’s home,
Ellichpur Civil Station. — Also called Pwratwada and
Ellichpur Cantonmnt, is situated at a height of 1268 feBt
above sea-level, in 2i"i8' N. and 77“34' E. and lies 32
rallies north-west of Amraoti and two miles north of Ellich-
pur City. It IS connected with Amraoti by a metalled high
load, and with Chikalda and the BetOl bolder by wurctm
road^. There is a District Board muvam road to AnjangftoR
Surji' (16 mtle,s) and another to Chandur Bazar (14 miles).
.The area within municipal limits is -iia acres gmilias,
or roughly two. square miles, and the population ip -'ipoi,
when there were still troops stationed here, was 10,410 as
against 9003 in 1891, 9445 in 1881, and 11,269 in 1867.
The figures for 1901 include 7,125 Hindus, 3,055 Musalmftns,
52 Jains, 124 Christians and 54 others. Probably the total
population to-day is about eight thousand. Paratwada is the
headquarters of the Ellichpur Subdivision.
The municipality v^as established here in i8'93, and the
Municipality committee consists pf 10 members
all nominated by GoVetnmeht wittf
the Subdivisional Officer for Chairman. During' the
fourteen years ending 1906-07, the average, annqal receipts
and expenditure wete Rs. 14,087 and Rs. 13.314 respectively;
and in 1907-08, Rs. 18,405 and Rs. 14,843 ; the main soitfceS
of incomehemg taxes Rs.- 5,377, fees and municipal propertjf
Rs. 10,538, and grants Rs. 2,306. The incidence of incOfne
per -head . of pophlatidn was ’ Rs,' ‘'2-4-3; and of taxatioli
Ru D-,io-7.' The 'chief: beads df expenditure have been
sanitation and conservancy; there is no- regular s'yslem'of
402
ELLICHPUH- CIVIL STATION,
water-supply, but water is drawn from wells which are many
and good.
Timber brought in from the MelghSt to the bazar on
Trade Thursdays is by far the most im-
portant article of trade, and the
weekly sales have an estimated value of Rs. 6,000, cattle
being the next most important item m the bazar and being
calculated at Rs. 3,000 weekly. The right to collect cess
in the bazar in 1909-1910 was sold for Rs. 5,350' Paratwada
contains two ginning factories and one cotton press; it also
contained a match factory. The latter unfortunately had
to suspend work, but has| found a new field in the manu-
facture of fireworks.
Paratwada is quite a modern town, its existence being
y. j ^ due to its selection as a military
station when Salabat KhSn’s
Reformed Troops were converted into the Ellichpur Brigade
and made a part of the Hyderabad Contingent. It was in
1823 according to the Nnnil Berdr that the cantonment was
formed, Captain Sayer being at that time Commandant, and
the station at Jaipur Kothli was m the same year abandoned.
At one time, a whole brigade with cavalry, artillery and
infantry was stationed here, and Meadows Taylor m 1840
notes that it was particularly the Brigadier’s privilege to spend
his summers at Chikalda, but on various occasions since the
Assignment the numbers were reduced, and in 1903 only one
battalion of infantry was left to evacuate the place. The
old military buildings , which are valued at Rs. 2,11,782,
consist of infantry and artillery lines with a military hospital
and are now; lying vacant.
Paratwada is divided by the river Bichan into two parts.
Description. north-east lies the basti and
to the south-west the Civil Station
or Cantonment, the two being joined. by bridges, one near the
gost office on the Chikalda road, and the other close to the
“^hGni Bungalow" as the Subdivisional Officer’s bungalow
for some unknown reason is called. The Circuit House .or
Bat .Bungalow lies in an open space a few hundred yards to
i(he north of the town. The hash is divided into seven fufds
or quarters named ‘ Chhota BazSr,’ ‘ Motha Bazar,* ‘ Moglai
Bazar,’ ‘ Gatarmalpura,’ ‘ Brahman line’ and ‘ Pensionpura.’
Its chief buildings are a native club with a tennis comt and
a billiard table, a town hall ,cQntaining the municipal offices
and a library, Anglo-MarathI and Urdu schools, and a Marathi
girls’ school, four and the civil and formei military
hospitals. There are also two temples to Shri Datta and
Shri Vitthal and a small theatre owned by Kisanlal Motilal.
On the north side of the town is an open space provided with
chabiitms for the weekly bazar, and beyond this lies the
parade ground. The Civil Station is a well-laid out area
with broad roads and excellent bungalows and public offices.
Though now. wearing a somewhat deserted appearance since
its reduction at one stroke from the headquarters of a
District and a military centre to the suburb of a second
class provincial town, it is still a picturesque place, being
well shaded with splendid trees, and stocked with flower
gardens and greenery. No statistics exist as to the climate,
but it IS generally held to be somewhat cooler than
Amraoti m the cold weather, and warmer in the summer,
both on account of its proximity to the hills and of the
trees which prevent the wind. In the rains the same
causes, together with the pioximity of the river, make it
very damp and unpleasant. In this portion of the town,
lie, besides the military lines, the site of the weekly bazar
and the former District Offices, including the buildings
now occupied by the Subdi visional Officer, and -the
Subordinate Judge, a police culcherty now used as a rest
house and the old District jad, part of which is in
occupation by the police. The station has both an
Anglican church and a Roman Catholic church ; there is a
joint cemetery. Paratwada is the headquarters of the
Roman Catholic Mission to the Dheds and of the Korku
and Central India Hill Mission. The latter body manages
an orphanage and industrial school at Khudawandpur, and
a leper asylum at Kothatia three miles away, andbofh of
these insftitutions are supported by Government. ' ,
Gar^a River. — A stream which rises under Bairat. It
runs nearly northrwest throughout its course passing near the
villages of' Dakna, Daonv and Sirpur, and unites with the
404 GANOJA — GHUIKHKP.
Tapti immediately under the southern face of the fort of
Amner.
Gano|&. — Taluk Amraoti, houses 326, population 1,421,
has a small fair held on the bright 15th of Margashirsli
(December) m honour of Devi and attended by four to five
thousand persons, chiefly Brahmans, who come here to per-
foim their family rites. The more devout spend three nights
at the shrine.
Gawil^arh'—A full description of this grand old fortress
will be found in the chapter on History and Antiquities; and
it is needless to repeat it heie. To-day the pastoral Gaolis
from whose forefathers, centuries gone by, it took its name, are
its only inhabitants save an occasional panther; and their
herds alone drink at the tanks which once supplied water to
a stately court and a strong garrison. In the monsoon the
water overflows m a torrent down the precipitous hillside.
The darbar steps on which princes have held audience are a
favourite resort for picnics from Chikalda in the hot weather,
the great bamyan tree which has. spread its boughs across them
affording a delightful shade, while another class of sightseer
has scribbled its names and its vulgarities m three languages
on the walls of the lesser mosque. The Archaeological
Department has decided that it is impossible to do anyidiing
to restore the ruins; and though money is spent from time to
time in removing lank vegetation from the walls, they are
bound as years go by to lapse into greater decay.
Ghataii|(. — Is not mentioned in the village list of the
Melghat though a small colony of Korkus lives there. The
place IS important only as a half-way house on the road from
Ellichpur, being 1 5 miles from the latter place and the same
distance from Chikalda, which is reached by a branch from
the main road about a mile out of the village. A combined
d 4 k and inspection bungalow has been established here for
the convenience of officers and travellers; the Korku Mission
have a station not far from the village and there is a police
road-post.
Ghutkhed- — Taluk Chandur, houses 496, population 2,542,
lies on the old Bombay-Nagpur dak line twelve miles south
of Chandur railway station, and is a large tot uninteresting
village with the usual school and post, office. The patels of
HAWARKHED ^JARUD.
405
Ghuikhed- are very well-to-do arid have' steadily refused an
entry to the village to Marwans, preferring to keep the
moneylending business m their oKU hands. .
Harisal. — A Korku -village on the banks of the rivei Sipna
and situated 46 miles from Ellichpur on the Dharni-Burhan-
pur road. Houses 24, pbpulation 119. A P. W. D.
inspection bungalow and a forest nakei are its only public
buildings, it is a forest village and the headquarters of a
forest range.
Hiwarkhed. — ^Taluk Morsi, houses 831, population 3528,
is a village on the Morsi-Warud road about 6 miles from the
former town, having the usual school, post office and sam,
and a weekly bazar held on Mondays. Shriram Ruprara
Marwari, who is a large local moneylender, owns a cotton
gin and press, and there is another cotton gin also owned by
a Marwan. Jaggery from the Multai tahsll is a great article
of trade at the bazar, and m former times a considerable
amount of salt was brought here from various parts of Berir
for sale to traders coming from the Central Provinces.
Outside the village are four temples, very old but not
particularly notable for size or workmanship, a modern temple
to Mahadeo has been built by subscription at a cost of Rs.
15,000. In days gone by, Hiwarkhed was the headquarters
of a Naib and a Rislla of the Nizam’s cavalry was stationed
here; a tomb is shown by the villagers as that of Turk or
Trak Sahib who was an officer in it. It is surmounted by a
cross and is therefore probably the grave of some early
European adventurer. Before British rule Hiwarkhed was
the scene of a great hookswinging festival in honour of the
deity Meghnath. Meghnathis, that is men whose prayers had
been answered by the god, would fix themselves to the hook
and turn eight times, afterwards making an offering of money
according to their means.
Jarud. — Taluk Morsi, houses 984, population 4698. A
large village on the banks of the Soki river paying Govern-
ment land revenue of Rs. 10,500. It has a weekly ba^ar and
a school, a Jain temple and temples of Maroti and Balaji.
Rao Sahib Anand Rao Tukararmis Desbmukh of Jarud, and
IS patron of a moneylending fimr here -which spends -part of
406
KAPUSTALMI-^-KHANZAMANAGAR.
its profits in, charitable works connected with a temple. There
are no Marwaris.
Kapustalni.— Houses 614, population 2796 A large
village in the Daryapur taluk with a small weekly bazar,
bringing in about Rs, 250 bazar cess annually. It has both
Urdu and Marathi schools and a large camping ground for
troops, being a day’s march from Elltchpur.
Karas^aon.— Houses 1645, population 7456. A town
about 8 miles north-east of Elhchpur m the taluk of the same
aarae and six miles from Paratwada; was formerly in Namdar
Khan’s jaglr and was the headquarters of the talukdars, one
of whom by name Vitthal Bhagdeo m 1806 built a fort of
fine sandstone at a cost of Rs. 25,000; but it is now in too
ruined a condition to be of any use. About the town is very
extensive garden cultivation by wells m consequence of which
it has considerable staying power m time of famine or short
harvest. Karasgaon produces good country brass and copper-
ware, such as gongs, lotas and household pots. The former
police station has been abolished. There is a combined school
and post office and a weekly bazar on Mondays. The village
has two hhek^ Chaudhrt and Mohal.
Kaundinyapur. — A village situated on the banks of the
Wardba in the Chandui taluk, which is of little importance
nowadays having only 413 inhabitants. It boasts of an
annual fair however in honour of the hero Vitthal Rukmaya,
held on Kartik Paurnima (November) and said to be attended
by some fifty thousand persons. This however is a very
rough estimate. A modern temple of Mahadeo about 90
years old and three stories in height succeeds an ancient
building of which, as of the Amba Devi temple in Amraoti,
the story of Krishna’s carrying off Rukmini is told. The
latter’s father was Raja of an ancient kingdom which bad its
capital here and his city Dewalwada is said to be buried
beneath the present village.
Khallar* — Daryapur taluk; houses 292, population 1292,
has a first class police station and a school. The sub-registrar’s
office here has been abolished.
. Khanzamana^ar. — A knall village in the Ellichpur taluk
Houses 115, population 431,. It takes its name drom that
Khan-i-Z^raan of the Emperor Aurangzeb who 'became
KHAR-TALfiGAON KQNDESHWAR.
407
Nazim of Berar in 1675 A. D. The village has a
very old mosque m a half ruinous condition, said to have
been founded by Khan-i-Zaman. There are other ruins also
and it IS said that the founder wished to make the place a
rival to Ellichpur.
Khar-Ttkle^aon — See Talegaon-Khar,
Kholapur. — Houses 1192, population 5373, lies eighteen
miles to the west of Amraoti on the borders of the taluk
of that name, part of its land lying across the Puma in
Daryapur. A bench of Honorary Magistrates has been
established here for the trial of petty offences; and the town
has a police station, a sub-registry, a dispensary, Hindustani
and Marathi schools, a girls’ school and a post office. Its
silk weavers have almost disappeared; but a large number
of Sails still produce cotton sdm and clwks, and some Mahirs
weave woollen blankets and cotton khadis. This trade
however is also languishing. The land revenue of the
place is Rs. 11,269-12-0. There is a cotton ginning factory;
a bazar is held on Wednesdays and Saturdays ; and a
-yearly fair m the month of August. Formerly Kholapur
■was a place of much importance. In 1809 Vitthal Bhagdeo,
Subhhdar of Ellichpur, levied a contribution of one lakh.
The inhabitants refused to pay, The Subabdir accordingly
besieged the town which was then protected by walls, for
two months, when the inhabitants gave in. The town was
looted by the troops, and has never recovered its former
prosperity. Its rapid decadence may also be attributed to
thb annual fights between the Musalmans and the Rajputs,
when the victorious party always took occasion to loot at
least part of the town.
Kondeshwar. — An old black stone temple of Kondeshwar
(Mahadeo) about’ three miles distant from Badnera and two
from Anjangaon' Bari in the Amraotr t^luk. It is skid to
be Hemadpanthi and may at one time have been a fine
structure though now much dilapidated; the former stone dome
has fallen in and has bteen replaced by a moder'n erection of
white chundm. The ’temple is largely visited by Hindus
from Amraoti and elsewhere on Mondays during the month
of Shra-vran (July-August)_.
KURIIA. — MALKAP0R,
•: Kurha. — A vill^e^ of 8i8 houses m the Chandur taluk
kaving a mixed population of Baris, Muhammadans, Kunbis,
Mails and Rajputs numbering 3746 persons. A police station
under a Sub-Inspector, a sub-registry, an Urdu and a combined
Marathi school and post office are its only public buildings.
The wasjid is supported by an indm grant of 150 acres. The
tank at Kurha is a good one. The place is situated half-way
between Chandur and Tiosa on the road -connecting these
places which was built m the famine of 1900. The famous
dacoits Nandu Rajput and Pandu Patel of Tembhurni were
surrounded here in a temple by the Nizam’s troops in 1843,
but after a three days’ fight succeeded in cutting their way
out. Their depredations had extended far into the Central
Provinces. Nandu lived to be a very- old man and died some
few years ago.
Lasura- — A small village m the Daryapur taluk, having
an old temple of Mahadeo said to be Hemddpanthi. The
stones of it are carved .with , figures of gods and demi-gods ,
butitlie building iS' rapidly falling into ruin!
Looi< —Taluk Morsi) houses 769, population 3464, com-
monly called Loni-Warud to distinguish it from the other
•Loni near Badnera. One Ganesh Shivaji has recently built
a temple to Mahadeo here at a cost of Rs. 1 5,000.
Mahimapur — An insignificant village m the Daryapur
taluk. It has an old well said to have been built during the
Mughal period, in which is a small chamber or grotto suitable
for relaxation in the hot weather. Even the name of the
sybarite for whose pleasure it was made is now forgotten,
and the water is used for tbe ordinary village supply.
Mahuli Jagir. — Amraoti taluk, lies 16 miles fiom Amraoti
on the Morsi road, and contains 540 houses with a population
of 2242 persons. It was granted in jagir in 1859 to the lineal
descendants of the late Mir Dilawar Husain in consideration
of faithful service rendered to Her Majesty. The area of
the village lands is 2618 acres and 23 gunthds, and the
estimated rental according to settlement rates Rs. 4720-8-0
per annum, _ :
MaIkapur.~See Sendurjana (Morsi)*
MALKHED— MELGHAT TALUK.
409
MjJkhed'— Taluk CMndur; 541 houses^ 2377 inhabitants.
The village is situated about half a mile from the railway
station named after it, and lies on the edge of the Chirodi
forest reserve, grass cutting m which employs many of its
inhabitants for several months of the year. Malkhed has a
Marathi school and post office and the masjid and two Hindu
temples are supported by indm land.
Mansfrul D&st^ir. — Chandur taluk, houses 1508, popu.
lation 6588, is not an integral village bat consists of eight
“ Munds ’’ lying close together. The second name Dastgir
is given to distinguish it from several other towns and villages
called “ Mangrul" in Berar and is derived from a Musalman
faUv who lived here and is buried in the garht, Mangrul is
about three miles from Talni railway station, and has a small
trade m cotton and gram to the Dattapur market. It has one
old and ruinous temple of Maroti and modern shrines of
Ealaji and Ganpati. At Rama close by are a small tank and
a big temple built by Wasudeopant Deshpande, the ancestor
of Bhagwant Krishna Deshpande the present patel. There
are Marathi and Urdu schools and a girls’ school. The
weekly bazar which is a large one is held on Wednesdays.
Marki- Amraoti taluk, houses 105, population 475, a
small village remarkajole for its fair which is held annually
for three days at the end of the bright half of Chaitra
(March) in honour of Shri Markinath and attracts from ten to
fifteen thousand people. About 200 booths are erected and,
it is said, not less than thirty thousand rupees worth of goods
sold ; but the great attraction of the fair is religious and
consists of a horn or fire-worship performed in front of the
shrine in which thousands of cocoanuts, are .offered to the Jir&
Blmjan melds or parties of ten or twenty persons wander over
the fair singmg religious songs of a somewhat enthusiastic
type to the accompaniment of tomtoms, cymbals, and similar
music.
Mel{(hat Taluk.~The northern taluk of Berar formerly
Physical features. EUichpur District, but since
August 1905 incorporated in the
Amraoti District, lying between 21 "10' and 21^47' N. and
76“38' and 7,7 ”40' E,, with .an estimated (area of 1,609
square miles, ..Previous to the transfer of the Ambablrwh
410
MELGHAT TALUK.
State forest to the Buldanh District the area of the taluk
was 1,631 square miles. The taluk is also sometimes called
Gangra and consists of that portion of the Satpura range
situated between the Khamla plateau on the east and
Jeitgarh on the west with the rich valleys and low plateaus
lying between the mountains. Its extreme breadth north
and south is thirty-eight miles, and its extreme length east
and west -sixty miles. On the north it is bounded by a
portion of the Betul District and the Tapti river dividing it
from Nimar, on the west by the T^pti iiver and a portion of
the Nimar District, on the south by the taluks of Jalgaon
(Buldana District) and Akot (Akola District) and the taluks
of Daryapur and Ellichpur, and on the east by the Betul
District. The whole taluk with the exception of the . alien-
ated lands and the civil station of Chikalda, which has been
disforested, is nominally State forest. In reality, however,
the only tracts which merit the name of forest are the A and
B class reserves. The area known as C — III forest has long
since been abandoned by the Forest Department, so far as
any system of consefvancy is concerned, but though it has a
long and interesting revenue history, cultivation having been
carried on from time immemorial, it has for varioua reasons
never been brought under the ordinary revenue law. It is
this tract, which constitutes the Melghat revenue taluk. It
comprises an area of about 671 square miles, and consists of
a broad belt lying south of the reserves and adjoining the
Berar plains, a small area on the east in the Katkumb
pargana and the whole of the western portion of the Melghat.
The country is extremely rugged- and broken into a succession
of hills and valleys. In the more advanced portions, such as
the nelghliourhood of -Dharni, and Bairagarh when the fobt
crops are on the ground^ the green fields afford a pleasing
and restful view to the eye. But' the typical Melghat country
consists of barren hills, scrub j'ungle and stony ground, aftd is
of a most dreary and desolate description. The villages are
collections of hovels without any shade, as the Korlfu prefprs
cutting trees to planting them, and one can well understand
the feelings of the subordinate officials who regard the, tract
as halapani and whose healfii requires frequent visits to the
Berar plains. ’ There are no navigable rivers in the taluk
4i:
unless the T^'pti which forms a poition of the boundary may
be considered such during the rainy season. The streams
that drain the northern face of the range and fall into the
Tapti are the following :~The Sipna and the Kundu both
have their rise close to the villageof Khamlain Betul District,
the former running south of Makhla plateau for 8 or lo miles
takes a north-westerly course and passing through the villages
of Harisal and Duni unites with the Tapti to the north-east of
Amner; the latter passing through the Katkunib and Saoligarh
parganas falls into the Tapti. The Garga rises under Bairat,
the highest summit of the Gawllgarh lulls and running nearly
north-west throughout its course unites with the Tapti imme-
diately under the southern face of the fort of Amner. The
Kapra, the Majn and the Dewan are the other minor streams
which fall into the Tapti.
The climate of the tract has a very evil reputation, corres-
ponding in this respect to the Dmdorl tahsll of Mandla and
the Baihar tahsil of Balaghat. A severe type of malaria
prevails at the end of the rains and the beginning of the cold
weather, and it has usually been considered unsafe to camp in
the Melghat before the ist Januaiy. In the hot weather the
heat in the valleys is intense and the absence of shade, the
difficulties of water-supply, and the general lack of all the
comforts of the plains, make the tract one of the most
unpleasant for touring purposes that it is possible to imagine.
The Melghat taluk is the largest of all the taluks of the
Population. in point of size, but the
smallest of all in point of population,
the density being only 22 per square mile. The population
of the taluk m 1901 was 36,670 or 4^ per cent, of the total
population of the District. In 1891 the population was
46,849 persons and in 1881, 42,262. The increase between
iSSl-iSgi'was 10.8 per cent, as against the District figure of
9.2 per cent. During the last decade the population declined
by about 22 per cent, being the largest decrease of all the
taluks m the District. Various causes were assigned for thfe
decrease such as famine, emigration to Nimar Disttict and
the'plains of Berar. It was said t&at in spite of the liberal
measures of relief during the famines ih the way' of distribut-
ing seed- and cattle, many villages with"poor soil and defective
413
MELG-HAT TALUK.
water-supply wer? deserted. Part of the decrease m popula,
tion IS attributed to the constant extension of the Melghat
reserves ; the Korku who dislikes being . bound down to a
settled habitation has gone elsewhere. The Melghat is still,
however, an aboriginal stronghold. Of the total population
in 1901, 76 per cent, were aboriginals, 60 per cent,
being Korkus. There are 338 villages in the C — III
tract, 240 of which are inhabited and cultivated, 56
uninhabited but cultivated and 42 both uninhabited and
uncultivated. The aboriginals are still in possession of more
than half the land at present occupied, and the impression
that the Korkus and other aboriginals have gone to the wall
before the tide of immigration from beyond the Tapti and
from Berar is not entirely justified. It is true that in the
centre of the Amner pargana the aboriginal has been to a
great extent ousted by the moneylender and the liquor seller,
who are immigrants from Burhanpur, and it is generally
assumed — perhaps without sufiScient authority — ^that the land
at the foot of the hills boidering the Berar plains which is
almost entirely in possession of Berar cultivators, has also
been filched from them. The taluk contains no town or
village with more than 1,000 persons. The sanitarium of
Chikalda, the headquarters of the taluk, boasts of 969 persons.
The census,, however, was taken early m the hot weather and
this figure includes a considerable official population of clerks
and attendants as well as Europeans temporarily resident
there. The only other villages having over 500 inhabitants
are Kalamkhar, Kasamkot Kalan and Bairagarh, The
largest village is Dhami with 731 inhabitants. The average
population , of a Melghat village is in. Weekly bazars are
held at Dharni, Popatkhera, Katkumb, Kalamkhar, Raipur,
Duni, Bairagarh, Titamba- and Chikalda.
In the valleys of the Tapti, Satpura and Gangra,
AgricuMure. especially in the neighbourhood of
Dhami or Bairagarh, rich stretches of
black soil are to be found, and a visitor to either of these
places who sees spread out before him an unbroken expanse
of wheat and gram, is liable to get a very misleading impres-
sion of the tract as a whole. The remainder of the tract is of
and jT^ged description, though here and - there
MlSLGHAT TALUK.
413
pockets of black soil are met with m the valleys. The soils
have never been thoroughly classified but in 1897 Colonel
Garret’s party classified a few typical fields in each village
and worked out the average value of the soil for each village.
The soil as a whole is of the poorest description. Of the 338
villages 3 were valued at 12 annas per acre, ii villages at ii
annas, 117 at values varying from 6 annas to 9 annas, and
the remaining 193 fell below 6 annas. In i86o-6r Mr. J.
Mulheran m his statistical report on Gangra stated that ‘ Rice
‘and gram are the principal productions of Gangra and are
‘grown expressly for export. The -former is much prized by
‘the people of Berar and Burhanpur, particularly the finest
‘kind which resembles that grown m the Pihbhit District.
‘Gram is exported principally to Burhanpur though large
‘quantities are brought into Berar through all the passes by
‘the people from Jalgaon, Hiwarkhed, Anjangaon, Elhchpur
‘and other places south of the range. Juan grows very
‘luxuriantly near Kalamkhar and other places in the SipnS,
‘ and Garga valleys also upon some of the lower plateaus.
'Bavdt, mla, mavgi, kodon kutkl and one or two other hill
‘grains are grown upon more elevated slopes and plateaus and
‘are used chiefly if not entirely by the Gonds. Potatoes are
‘not cultivated by the Korkus of Gangra although that veget-
‘able would pay them better than any other. That sold at
‘Chikalda and Elhchpur is grown by the Gaolis located at
‘ Mota, Chikalda., Shapur and Bon and by the Hindu mhabi-
‘tants of the fort of Gawilgarh.’ At this time the area under
cultivation obtained by outlining and subsequent computation
was 97,280 acres. In 1864 Captain Pearson refers to the
rich soil and good cultivation of the plains near the Tapti
and the Gangra, and the Gazetteer of 1870 states that thirteen
different kinds of grain were produced in the Melghat of which
the most valuable were the finest wheat and rice, grown in
large quantities. In 1906-07 the returns shewed that out of
atotal of 1,663,376 acres occupied for cultivation 142,334 acres
were under crop. Of this cotton occupied 42,392 acres or 25
per cent., ju3ri 23,749 acres or 14 per cent., gram 14,193 acres
or 8 per cent., and wheat 8,254 acres or 4 per cent. The area
under rice was only 3,256 acres and the total irrigated area
was, 50 acres. These figures do not include those for mam,
4H
MELGHAT TALUK,
leased and jagir villages, and it is to be noted that they are
not the results of accurate measurement but are derived from
the statistical calculation of i6 acres per plough.
The tract has a curious and interesting revenue history, for
, . „ which the Chapter on Land Revenue
Land Keventie. . , ,
may be consulted. Cultivation is per-
mitted by the Tahsildar on a yearly tenure subject to certain
conditions and land revenue is assessed on the yoke of oxen,
the rates differing m different villages. For statistical purposes
only, the area cultivated by one plough is taken to be i6
acres and to obtain the total acreage under cultivation, the
number of ploughs should be multiplied by i6. The yoke rate
system IS a cheap and simple method of colonizing a back-
ward tract but it is no longer suitable for a considerable
portion of the Melghat and the introduction of a regular and
scientific assessment is urgently required, Proposals for
settlement have been made at various times but have always
proved abortive. A special enquiry was made in 1907 and
orders regarding the settlement of the most advanced portion
of the tract have recently been issued. In 1907.08 the land-
revenue demand including cesses was Rs. 57,227.
It goes without saying that the complicated systems of land
... , records, vital statistics and the like in
Miscellaneous. , , .
force m the plains do not exist in the
Melghat. There are no Circle Inspectors but eleven patwans
are m existence, each with a circle of villages, and they carry
on such land record work as is necessary. Local Government
likewise has not yet been found possible in such a backward
tract, and it is accordingly excluded from the operation of the
Rural Boards Law. The Melghat Fund is formed of various
cesses and of a contribution from provincial funds and itS'
primary object is the upkeep of Chikalda but certain expen-
diture m the C III tract such as the upkeep of village chamis,
cattle pounds, and a few roads is also debited to it. The taluk
forms part of the Ellichpur police circle under an Inspector
and contains 2 station-houses each under a Sub- Inspector at
Chikalda and Dharni. There are also two road posts at
Bairagarh and Ghatang, It is a separate forest division, the
Ilivisional Officer having 7 range officers under his orders. A
grbat .change has taken place since 1870 when Sir A. Lyall
MOJHRl,
415
wrote that none of the passes from the Melghat ware practic-
able for wheeled traffic and that there were no made roads
in the Melghat. The opening out of the Melghat was begun
m 1874 and has continued ever since with the result that
especially in, the reserves a most excellent system of communi-
cation has been established. The P. W. D. maintains roads
from Ghatang to Chikalda, the Gugumal forest road (Akot to
Selu) and the Sambadoh to Dharni road. These are second-
class roads surfaced with mimm partially bridged and drained.
There will also ultimately be first-class communications
between Burhanpur and Ghatang via Dhertalai and Harisal.
There are 8 different roads maintained by the Foiest Depart-
ment and 5 by the Melghat Fund. Perhaps the most impor-
tant of these is the road running from Bairagarh to Jhiri, 56
miles in length, which was constructed in the famine. Its
cost of upkeep is only about Rs. 560 per annum, but as it is
the principal line of export for the western portion of the
Melghat, its claims for improvement deserve consideration.
With a few exceptions every village in the Melghat is in cart
communication with some main road , the tracts are rough
and stony but they serve their purpose sufficiently well. There
is no railway in the tdhsil but the proposed Khandwa-Akola
line will pass through the south-western corner of it.
Moihri.— -(Taluk Melghat) or as the Berar Gazetteer of 1870
has it, Manjira, is a small village reached from Chikalda by a
precipitous track through the fort. It has two small artificial
caves, cut in the natural rock. One of these is completely
choked with .rubbish, so that it is. very difficult to discover,
but the other which is about 8 feet .high and i’6 feet square
contains in its inner part a shrine of Mahadeo, This is
divided from the outer portion by a small mud wall. Beside is
a spring of water dry during the greater part of the year
and a cut basin. The whole is most rudely cut in the rock
Without any trace of carving, and is probably the work of
bygone hermit ascetics, though all traditions of its origin
have long since been lost. ' , ’
Moihri. — Taluk Chandur, houses 684, population 2906, has
a combined Marathi school and post office, and a weekly bazar
held on Saturdays. Thepatel, ThakurChandrabhan’Raoji Deshx
mukh, has .an orange garden and is the owner of 'a cotton gm;
4i6
MORSr TALUK.
Morsi Taluk. — A taluk of the Amraoti District lying
Physical features.
77 48 and 78 29 E. with an area of
6aa square miles. It contains 332 villages and towns, one of
these the little village of Deothana being alienated ; proceed-
ings for its resumption are at present before the courts. The
lands of the village of Ambhori are entirely absorbed in
State forests. The taluk is a prolongation of the rich alluvial
plain which occupies the valley of Berar and its capabilities
for the production of cotton and cereals are considerable,
although a slight fallmg-off is perceptible from an agricultural
point of view both m. the formation of surface and the nature
of the soils. The former is more undulating than that pre-
sented by the Ellichpur plain, and the' latter are more shallow
and more varied in quality than the sods of Ellichpur. The
taluk lies in the fertile valley of tlie Wardha river which
bounds it on the east and south-east, but a narrow strip along
its north-western border occupies the lower, slopes of
the S&tpura hills. The Amraoti apd Elhchpur taluks bound it
on the south and west, lespectively. On the north lies the
Betul district; to the east and south the Chhindwara, Nagpur
and Wardha districts. The Wardha river has bqen taken as
the boundary between the Central Provinces and Berar. It
is to this fact that the taluk owes its peculiar shape, the river
approachmg so near to the hills in the vicinity of Morsi as
almost to cut it into two portions. Some parts of the country
are fairly well wooded, and-the only considerable forest reserves
qf the Amraoti Division (if we except Chirodi), are m the
eastern half of this taluk. The western part is bare and very
dreary, and in respect of scenery the taluk compares unfavour-
ably with Ellichpur. The clnjiate is good, although of course
exceedingly hot in the hot weather. In the eastern portion
of the tiluk water is near the surface and can be raised with-
out much difficulty for purposes of irrigation. Of the river
system which drains the taluk the Wardha is the main;
channel, and it supplies water to villagers along the border
for a distance of upwards of 50 miles. Among rivers of l«ss
importance are the Charged and the Mandu in the western'
portion of the taluk add thd Chundamani, K’urtibhj. Ahd Bel
in the east. These rivers though of no great length' ..jo^ain;
MORSI TALUK.
417
considerable supplies of water tor a large part of the year.
Streams m the neighbourhood of the hills haidly worthy of
the name of rivers are much used for irrigation, the rapid fall
of the beds of these streams affording facilities for drawing
off the water on erection of temporary dams In no other
part of Berar is the water from streams utilized as it is m
Morsi and the supply here is m some cases perennial, ad.
mitting of the cultivation of sugarcane and turmeric without
the assistance of well water, It is probable that there is room
for a very large extension of wet cultivation in this taluk.
The possibility of artesian wells has also been mooted.
The total population of the taluk in igoi was 143,734
Population persons or about 18 per cent, of that
of the District. In i8gi the popula-
tion was 152,374 and in 1881, 129,688. The increase between
1881 and 1891 was 17^ per cent, as against the District
figure of 9 and the decrease between 1891 and igoi was
aWt 6 per cent, as against nearly 5 for the District as a
whole. As usual the decrease is attributed to the series of
bad years and the famines during the decade. The density
of population is 231 souls to a square mile. Excluding towns
the density of rural population is 186 per square mile. As
m other taluks throughout Berar the population in general is
purely agricultural. The taluk contains the 4 towns of Morsi,
Warud, Sendurjana and Ner Pinglai, and 328 villages, of
which 100 are uninhabited* according to village lists. Besides
the above towns the following 9 villages contained more
than 2000 persons m 1901 Ambada, Jarud, Pusla, Benoda,
Eelura, Rajura, Rithpur, Loni and Hiwarkhed. There were
also 19 villages whose population exceeded 1000 persons.
Cotton, juari, wheat and tur are the principal crops grown.
Agriculture, original settlement juan occupied
42 per cent., cotton about 36 per cent.,
and wheat about 10 per cent. ‘ That cotton,’ it was said, ‘should
‘still bear a proportion of niore than one-third to all the other
crops notwithstanding the low prices that have ruled during
‘the last few years would be surprising, were it not that these
‘prices are still remunerative and the speculative spirit
roused during the cotton mani a has not yet quite died out
^ ' Sec note, p, WS '
4i8
MORSl TALUK.
‘ even amongst the cultivators.’ At the revision settlement
(1894-98) the total occupied and assessed area was 311,229
acres. Of this 127,460 acres or 40.2 per cent, were occupied
by juan and 117,208 acres or 37 per cent by cotton, the
cultivation of these crops having practically remained stable
since the original settlement Wheat occupied 20,034 acres
or 6.3 per cent showing a decline of about 4 per cent, over
that of the original settlement. The area under tur was
15,764 acres or 5 per cent, of the total occupied assessed
area. HalM (Cucima Imgd) or turmeric thrives here
particularly well m irrigated land. The area occupied by
irrigated crops was 9,818 acres or more than 5 per cent. The
irrigation by channels from streams or patasthal bagait is of
some importance in Morsi though almost unknown m the
remainder of the District. The construction of temporary
dams across the streams at the close of the monsoon rams is
easily and cheaply effected, and in some cases a perennial
supply of water can be turned on to the garden lands and
valuable crops can be grown at a minimum of labour and
cost. In 1906-07, of the 334,1 15 acres of village area 320,169
acres or about 96 per cent, were occupied for cultivation.
Of this the total cropped area was 309,560 acres including
the double-cropped area (only 187 acres). The area under
juari was 88,401 acres or 28J per cent, of the cropped area,
and under wheat 7,920 acres or 2 J per cent., while that under
cotton was 171,751 acres or more than 55 per cent., having
gained by 18 per cent, since revision settlement. The area
under tur is also on the increase, being 22,929 acres or more
than 7 per cent, of the cropped area. The irrigated area has
much declined being only 1,801 acies.
At the original settlement the 331 Maha villages were
Und Revenue. <livided into four groups, and assessed
with maximum dry crop standard
acreage rates varying from R. 1-8-0 to Rs. 2.4-0. The
average rale per acre cultivated however varied from 8 annas
11 pies to R. 1-8-5. The groupmg of the villages and the
settlements were based entirely dn the proximity to market
towns; and the rates applied to these groups were introduced
from the Ellichpur taluk, Morsi being similarly situated' as
regards distance from the hue of rail. At the revision settle-
MORS! TOWN.
419
merit (1894-98) the taluk was divided into two groups, making
a distinction between the eastern and western portions and
taking the river Mandu as the dividing line. The first group
consisted of 174 villages and was rated at Rs. 2-12-0, and the
second 157 villages at Rs. 2-8 per acre, the average rate
however falling at R. 1-13-8 for the first group and R. i 8-10
for the second group. The demand at the time of revision
settlement on the Government occupied area of 311,418 acres
according to the former survey was Rs. 4,25,596 giving an
incidence of R. 1-5-9 per acre, while at the revision settle-
ment the assessment on the occupied area of 311,229 acres
according to revision survey was increased to Rs. 5,31,959,
giving an incidence of R. 1-11-4 per acre. The increase
thus amounted to Rs. 1,06,363 or 25 per cent, on the existing
demand. In 1907-08 the demand on account of land revenue
and cesses was Rs. 3,58,339, while the actual collections
according to treasury figures amounted to Rs. 5,47,071.
For purposes of land records the taluk has been divided
Miscellaneous. Inspectors’ circles
with headquarters at Morsi, Warud and
Sirkhed. It constitutes a single police circle under an
Inspector and contains 4 Station-houses, each under a Sub-
Inspector at Morsi, Sirkhed, Warud and Benoda. The
Morsi-Warud forest range lies wholly and the Morsi-Bairam
range partly in this taluk which includes the Shekdari,
Mehdari and Lakhada State forests and the large Pusla
grazing reserve. In the matter of communications the taluk
is extremely well served, the Amraoti-Wardha-river road
running along its whole length.
Morsi Town.— The headquarters of the taluk of that
name contains 1714 houses with 8313 inhabitants and is
situated 34 miles north-east of Amraoti with which place it
is at present connected by a first-class metalled road and is
soon to be joined by a railway. The same road continues to
Warud whence a branch of it is taken over the Central
Provinces border to Multai and one branch goes on to the
river Wardha at the extreme east of the taluk. To Ellichpur
there is a country road, parts of which were metalled during
the last famine. The public buildings include besides the
tahsili (in which the police station and sub-registry are also
420
NANDGAON KAZI.
located), a civil court for the Sub-Judge and munsiff, a post
and telegraph office, and a veterinary dispensary. On the
site of the old gaihl are a Hindustani school and a charitable
dispensary. The town also possesses a Marathi school, and
a girls’ school, an inspection and dik bungalow, a sava% and a
public library. The Lady Duffenn fund maintains a trained
midwife here. A river runs by the town and the place is
damp and malarious ; it is however commercially important
and has a cotton market established in 1900 with an income
of about Rs. 1,400. Three cotton gins and two presses are
at work here, and tadhaos, blankets, and coarse dhotis are also
made by hand looms. The weekly bazar is held on Tues-
days. Mails, Kunbis and Mnsalmans are the most numerous
classes among the population ; and there are two patels and
one patwari.
Mota. — A village in the Killa pargana of the Melghat
situated just where the Dhamangaon-Mota road to Chikalda
reaches the tops of the hills. “ Mackenzie’s Ride ” from
Chikalda ends here. The present patel (1908) is a retired
soldier, a great shhdn, and a character whose acquaintance
IS well worth cultivating. The village has 65 houses with
252 inhabitants; there are several families of Gaolis who own
large herds of cattle.
Nandg&on Peth.— Amraoti taluk, is almost 7 miles from
Amraoti on the Morsi road, and is inhabited by a large
number of Muhammadans, the chief of whom is Syed Kasim,
the jagirdar of the neighbouring villages of Kathora and
Takli. The population is 4575. A bazar is held on Tues-
day, Friday and Sunday. Two Hindu temples, a masjid
and the tomb of a Muhammadan saint are supported by
service smms,
Nandgaon Kazi. — Taluk Chandur : houses 794, population
3435, has a first-class police station, sub-registry, Marathi
school, and post office, a public savai and a cattle pound.
The village has one police patel but is divided into eight
mmds or hhels, each with a separate revenue patel. One
Haji Ghazi Aolia is buried here, and there is also a combined
temple of Khandeshwar, Devi and Narsinh with a common
sahhd mmdap situated ona hillock on the outskirts of the village.
This is said to be Hemadpanthi, a common tradition of any
NER PINGLAI — PATHROT.
421
old temple, a& a matter of fact it is probably not more than
200 yeais old. In modern times a pmada known as Mati
Mile Miyan lived here. The words mean “mixed with dirt”
and are a term of abuse among women locally. The name
was doubtless descriptive of the plr, though one may suppose
it was assumed with some suggestion of “Ashes to ashes, dust
to dust.” A tomb has been built over his remains, and an
ms IS held annually which is largely frequented. His son at
present lives in the village. Nandgaon is situated in the
rocky portion of Chandur taluk and in lime of scarcity is one
of the places to be attended to first.
Ner Pin glai.— Taluk Morsi . houses 1252, population 5408.
The second name has been given to distinguish it from N er
Parsopant in the Yeotmal District, and is taken from a
temple of Pinglai Devi situated on a small hill on the borders
of Ner and SSwarkhed. The temple, though not as sometimes
said Hemadpanthi, is an old one, and is the scene of two fairs
in the year, one at Dasahra and one at Chaitra Paurnima, at
which about five thousand people collect Beside it is a small
tank. A math for the accommodation of pilgrims has been built
by the late Guru Gangadhar at a cost of about Rs. 20,000 and
IS supported by an indm of Rs. 150. Bans, Mahs, Wanis and
a few Musalmans reside in the town, which has, in addition to
the usual Marathi school and post office, and Urdu school.
The weekly bazar is held on Thursday, and there is a sava%
at Ner. Sawarkhed, the neighbouring village, which is 21
miles from Amraoti by the Morsi high road, has a dak bunga-
low. The proposed new railway line will have a station near
here.
Palaskhed- — A large but unimportant village in the
Chandur taluk. Houses 559, population 2581.
Paratwada. — See Ellichpur Civil Station.
Pathrot, — Houses 1081, population 4510. A large
centre of garden cultivation situated m the west of the
Elhchpur taluk twelve miles from Paratwada and six from
Anjangaon Surji by the District Board road. A bazar is
held on Thursdays ; and m addition to the gardens there is a
considerable dry crop of chillies. It has a sixth standard
422 PEDHI KIVER — PURNA RIVER.
vernacular school and post office and a first-class police
station under a Sub-Inspector.
Pedhi River, — A river rising in the southern portion of the
Morsi taluk; runs through the centre of the Amraoti taluk
roughly parallel to the Puma river in a south-westerly direction.
It flows through Balgaon and Bhatkuli and leaves the taluk at
Bapori ; and from thence taking a bend towards the west
meets the Puma. The supply of water is small but perennial.
Peth Muhammad Na^ar, — See Anjangaon Surji.
Puma River, — (Said to be the ancient Payoshni). — A
river of Berar having its source in the Gawilgarh hills in
2 i° 36^ N., and E. near Bhainsdehi in the Betul
District of the Central Provinces. The river takes a south-
westerly course and flowing through the Ellichpur taluk as
far as Assegaon, forms the boundary between the Amraoti
taluk and the Ellichpur and Daryapur taluks up to the
northern border of the Murtizapur taluk, thus traversing a
distance of about 50 miles, it then takes a bend towards the
west and flows about midway between the Gawilgarh and
Balaghat hills draining the central valley of the Berars.
From the point at which it turns towards the west it forms
the District boundary between Amraoti and Akola Districts
as far as Dahihanda. Then leaving Amraoti and follow-
ing the same westerly course through the north-western
portion of the Akola District it enters Buldana near
Wanjargaon, from thence separating the Jalgaon taluk from
the Malkapur aud Khamgaon taluks, it flows on till it leaves
the Buldana District at Dadhalgaon and after some distance
meets the Tapti in Khandesh. The river is not navigable
by boats. The banks though soft resist to a great extent
serious inroads by the channel water. On the banks of the
Puma water can be always had by sinking wells; but owing
to the peculiarity of the sub-soil, the water is sometimes very
brackish and except for washing can be little used. For
irrigation the Ifurna is unsuitable in consequence of its high
banks and the scanty supply of water. The tributaries on its
right bank within the District are the Chandrabhaga and
Shahnur. The total length of the river roughly measured
from the map is about 155 miles, of which about 75 miles lie
within the District.
PUSDA RIDHPUR OR RITPUE.
423
Ptisda> — Amraoti taluk, 12 miles to the north of Amraoti,
and about 3 miles to the east of the Chandur Bazar road.
The population is 2,158. There is a vernacular school with a
branch post office The District Boaid has provided a sard
for native travellers. A bazar is held on Saturdays.
Pusla- — Houses 1,080, inhabitants 4,837, a large but poor
village in the north-east of the Morsi taluk. The population
includes a large number of KoshtTs, who weave coarse cloth
for the local market, and are m times of scarcity hard pressed
to find a living. The soil of the village moreover is poor and
not suited for high cultivation. Thus on the approach of
famine Pusla is one of the first villages to require attention.
It has a Public Works Department inspection bungalow in
connection with the road from Amraoti to the Wardha river,
and the neighbouring Pusla grazing reserve is the largest
block of C class forest in the Amraoti Division. Pusla is
60 miles from Amraoti and the projected railway line may be
expected to bring some increase of prosperity.
Rajura.— Taluk Morsi, houses 400, population 2,111, has
a weekly bazar held on Thursdays at which grain and cattle
as well as silk and silk- bordered cotton cloth are sold. It is
otherwise unimportant.
Railway Chandur.— See Chandur Town.
Ridhpur or Ritpur- — ^Taluk Morsi, 508 honses, 2,412
inhabitants, a village about 6 miles east of Chandur Baz§.r on
the Ellichpur-Chandur-Morsi road, is famous chiefly as the
headquarters pf the Mairbhao sect (see Chapter III. page 121.
It belonged to Salabat Khan having been given to him as
tanhitci, jaglr, and was a place of much importance. Eighty
years ago, it was surrounded by a stone wall which has now
almost disappeared, and contained two thousand houses and
some twelve thousand inhabitants. In the time of Namdar
Khan however the notorious Raja Bisn Chand was talukdar
there. He is remembered alike for his oppression and
miserliness, and has left a name at which the Kunbi still
grows pale. To pronounce it of a morning is to incuf the
risk of having to do without food all day. The people fled
from his neighbourhood and Ridhpur has since borne that
424 ftINMOCHAN — SALBARDI.
deserted ' appearance which characterises it to-day. In
addition to the Manbhao buildings here of which the Raj
Math and Krishna Mandir are the most important, the Hindus
have a temple of Ramchandra and the Muhammadans two
daygdhs and a masjtd. The latter is in the midst of the
Manbhao buildings, and till lately the only approach to it lay
through them. Local tradition declares that it was built by
Aurangzeb, who knocked down the original Raj Math for the
purpose : and the story, whether true or not, is typical of the
bigoted Emperor. In addition to the weekly bazar on
Tuesday, two fairs are held here yearly at Chaitra Paurnima
and Ashad Paurnima, which though primal ily Manbhao
festivals are attended by about 5,000 people of all castes. A
well, known as Lala’s well, supplies excellent drinking water
to about half the village. The neighbouring soil is rocky and
poor.
Rinmochan.— Amraoti taluk, houses 7, population 57, a
jagir village granted along with Dhanora in the Daryapur taluk
in A. D. 1840 for the service of Muezzin at KhoMpui and
personal maintenance in heredity. The present holder is
Shaikh Gulam Murtaza son of Shaikh Gulam Mustafa ; the
acreage of Rinmochan is 295 acres 6 gimthds, and the estimated
amount of land revenue remitted to the jagirdar Rs. 583 per
annum. The place is considered holy by Hindus, being one
of the sacred places on the river Puma, and boasts of an
annual fair held on the four Sundays in the month of Pausha
with an attendance of one to ten thousand. The word
Rin-mochan hterally means ‘release from debts,’ and it is
believed that those who attend the fair and bathe in the river
attain this blissful state.
Salbafdi. — Houses 36, population 163, is an insignificant
village about 5 miles north of Morsi and lying partly in the
taluk of that name and partly in the Betul District, but holds
an important position in Hindu mythology. It is here that
Sita IS said to have come when she was deserted by Rama,
and to have given birth to her two sons Lava and Kusha ;
these were taught by Valmik after he had been reformed by
Narad, who released him from his entombment at Salbardl.
Rtt m Marathi, means deserted ; ^«r=village.
SALBARDI.
425
The twins are said to have caught the horse Shyamkarna
let loose by their father. On this a great fight occurred in
which the god with his three brothers was defeated and left
unconscious. Their clothes and ornaments were recognised
by Sita and they were restored to life by Valmik. Sita and
the sons were then acknowledged by Rama, and were taken
by him to Oudh. Salbardi is situated on the Marii river,
and is celebrated on account of two springs — one very cold,
and the other hot, or decidedly tepid. The spi mgs flow into
a small stone cistern which was formerly divided into com-
partments for the hot and cold water but has now been
made one. Some of the water was recently analysed, and
reported on as containing sulphates and phosphates m small
quantity ; unfit for drinking but probably useful as a wash
for skin diseases. Colonel Meadows Taylor records bathing
here in 1857 and says that the waters gave his malaria
temporary relief. As might be expected, the place contains
several spots of mythological interest, particularly the bath
or Nihdni of Sita and an underground temple of Mahadeo
in a natural cave ; also some images cut in the natural rock.
A hill close by is crowned with a rough stone fort known as
Babfl Khan’s ktld after a famous Pindari who occupied it.
Near this place R. B. Hira Lai has recently discovered
two Buddhist viJiavas or monasteries consisting of spacious
halls and rooms all cut out of rock. One of them contains
a headless image of Buddha, now worshipped as a Devi
with vermilion and water. Hence the story given in the
Betul Gazetteer from which the following is extracted.
‘A small village in the Multai tahsll on the Berar border,
‘about 44 miles south of Badftur on the Maru river, with a
‘population of about 300 persons. A cave m a hill by the
‘village, approached through a long narrow passage, contains
‘an idol of Mahadeo- It is popularly supposed that an
‘underground passage leads from this cave to Mahadeo’s hill
‘at Pachmarhi, and it is said that Mahadeo put two thousand
‘goats into the passage at Pachmarhi, and only one came
‘out of Salbardi. It is said also that a hole in the hill leads
‘down to the cave and that this hole was made by Bhlmsen
‘ 9 q;that,be might see Mahadeo better. There were also hot
‘and cold water springs here, but they have now become
426
SATEGAON — SATPURA HILLS.
‘mixed. A temple on the hill contains a headless image of
‘Devi and a pool of reddish-coloured water in front of the
‘temple is supposed to be tinged by the blood that fell from
‘the image when its head was cut off. An annual fair is
‘held here in March, lasting for three days, and is attended
‘by about 5,000 persons, nearly a hundred temporary shops
‘being opened for the sdle of goods. In the village is a
‘quarry of hard stone from which mortars, cups and cooking
‘slabs are made. There is also a quarry of limestone. The
‘proprietor is a Khatri.’
Salbardi is named from its abundance of sal trees and the
stony character of its soil.
S&te^aon. — 499 houses, 2,258 inhabitants, a rich but
unimportant village in the Daryapur taluk ; it has a
Marathi school.
Satpura Hills. — A range of hills in the centre of India.
Geographical position. originally
belonged to the hills which divide the
Nerbudda and Tapti valleys in NirnSr, Central Provinces,
and were styled the Sal putra or seven sons of the Vindhyan
mountains. Another derivation is from Satpura (sevenfolds),
referring to the numerous parallel ridges of the range. The
local interpretation placed on the Satpura refers the word to
the seven distinct ridges that a traveller from the Berar valley
has to cross before he reaches the Nerbudda. Taking Amar-
kantak in Rewah, Central India (20° 40^ N. and 81“ 46^ E.)
as the eastern boundary, the Satpuras extend from east to west
for about 600 miles and m their greatest depth exceed 100
miles from north to south. The shape of the range is almost
triangular. The western prolongation of the Satpura hills,
which walls in the northern frontier of Berar, lies chiefly
in Amraoti District and is sometimes spoken of as the
GSwilgarh ' range, from the fort of that name which stands on
one of its highest buttresses directly overlooking the plain.
The range is almost coterminous with the Melghat taluk, so
called not from ghat a mountain but from Melghat a small
village and ford on its northern side; and forms the water-
shed between the Tapti on the north and the Pflrna and
Wardha rivers on the south. Its greatest length through
I — SBMBADOH.
427
the Betfil, Amraoti and Nimar Districts is probably about 160
miles. The hills rise abruptly from the plains of B^rar on
one side and from the banlrs of the Tapti on the other, the
summits reaching an elevation of two to fom thousand feet.
Plateaux rather than isolated peaks are the rule, interspersed
with precipitous ravines.
The most notable elevations locally are Khamla (3,700 feet)
j. . . and Bhainsdehi (2,609 feet) in Betul,
*** Bairat (3,866 feet), Chikalda (3,664
feet) in Amraoti and the two great fortresses of Gawllgarh
(3,513 feet) in Amraoti and NarnSla (3,052 feet) m Akola.
The last-named though geographically part of the Melghat
taluk was handed over to Akola apparently with the idea that
it should be a hill station for that District. Its inaccessibi-
lity, however, has largely prevented its use. For further
details reference may be made to the article on the Melghat
taluk.
Saur. — In the Amraoti taluk, 417 houses, population
3,162 It is 18 miles from Amraoti by road and about 4
miles to the west of the pahka road to Chandur Bazar.
There is a vernacular school, with a branch post office, A
bazar is held on Saturdays.
Sawan^a. — Pargana Malkhed, taluk Ch§,ndur, a small
village with 664 inhabitants. A fair m honour of Vithoba
commences on Chaitra Sudi Pratipada (March) and lasts for
10 days, being attended by about 2,000 people. There is no
temple or other building of any importance.
Sawalpur.— Houses 268, population 1,147. in the Ellichpur
taluk, on the borders of Amraoti taluk adjoining Assegaon, is
situated on the banks of the Puma. Its only claim to be
noticed is a fairly executed image ot Keshaoraj which was
unearthed here in 1884.
Sembadoh.— Melghat taluk, a forest village 30 miles
from Ellichpur, on the Dharni road ; the population, 342 in
number!, is entirely Korku. It is the headquarters of a
forest range, and has a Public Works Department inspection
bungalow.
428
SENDURMNA — SHAHNUR RIVER.
Sendtirjana. — A village m Morsi taluk about 6o miles
east of EUichpur with 1,463 houses and 6,860 population.
The contiguous village of Malkapur has 1,946 inhabitants.
Sendurjana formerly belonged in jagir to an agent of the
Nagpur Raja called Gaikwar who lived there and made the
Village one of considerable importance. He built a splendid
well about a mile distant which goes by his name and cost,
it IS said, some 20,000 rupees. There are also ruins of a
small mosque, and a temple of Balaji for the support of
which seven inam fields are assigned. Some tombs also exist
of early European adventurers. A big weekly bazar is held
on Fridays at which timber and jaggery are sold. Now
that the police station here has been suppressed a Marathi
and an UrdQ school and post office are the only public
buildings. Malis are the chief element m the population,
Kunbis and Musalmans coming next. The place is well
known for the manufacture of kimku, a red powder, used by
women. Rai Sahib Sunder Lai has a cotton gin here.
Sendurlana, — Pargana Talegaon, taluk Chandur, houses
438, population 1,926, like its namesake is noteworthy chiefly
for its large weekly bazar and cattle market.
Sendurjana Buzruk.— Pargana Kurha, taluk Chandur,
houses 302, population 1,429, has a musafir hhdna, a District
Board chaodi, and a school. The weekly bazar which is
held on Tuesdays is a very large one, and cattle are sold.
There is also a Sendurjana Khurd with a population of 260
in the same pargana.
Shahnur River- — A river which, taking its rise near the
Gawilgarh fort, flows through the length of the Daryapur
taluk from the north southward. The name is said to be
derived from the Shaba Neera or “javelin thrown ” by
Ramachandra • and the river to have sprung up where the
javelin struck the ground. It is met by its tributary the river
BordI close to Adul and thence taking a westerly course
leaves the Daryapur taluk at Dahihanda, and flowing in the
same direction effects a junction with the river Puma near
Pilaktvan in the Akot taluk. At one point, about a quarter
mile north of the little hamlets Malkapui and Wggdeo, which
forrfi^tt of the ElUchpur taluk and lie at the foot of the
Satpui^lls, it is possible that a fine reservoir might be
SHIRALA— TAKESKHERA,
429
constructed. The banks of the river here are very high and
precipitous, and approach each other so closely that by means
of a small embankment a large valley can be easily enclosed.
In the monsoon a large body of water rushes down this
channel only to disappear, however, as rapidly as it collects,
and It has been is suggested that this amount of water could
be saved by a reservoir for purposes of irrigation.
ShiraIa---Amraoti taluk, about 15 miles north of Amraoti,
is about 2 miles to the east of the Chandur Bazar road, and
has a population of 3,546. Like other villages of its class it
has a vernacular school with a branch post office attached, a
pound and a sami. The weekly bazar is held on "Wednesdays.
A Marathi school for girls teaches 3 standards, and the
Hindustani school contains 4 classes. Good tadhaos, a coarse
cotton cloth like canvas, used as carpets etc., are made here
on handlooms by Dhangars.
Shirasf(aon Band.— See Chandur Bazar.
Shxras{(aon Kasba.— A large and rich village with 1,289
houses and a population of 6,537, situated on the banks of the
river Megha about 14 miles from Elhchpur. A large area of
garden land belongs to the village. The bazar day is
Wednesday; and the village has a first-class police station
and a combined post office and vernacular school teaching up
to the sixth standard. There is nothing else of note. The
yearly land revenue is about Rs. 17,000.
StpniK River. — This stream in the northern portion of
the Melghat taluk rises near Khamla and Kukru in the Betul
District of the Central Provinces, and runs south of the
Makhla plateau for eight or 10 miles. Passing under the
villages of Harisal and Duni, it then meets the Tapti about
4 miles north of Dharm, Otters {Lntm min) are found in
the Sipna.
Stirii. — See Anjangaon Surji.
T&kerkhera.— Amraoti taluk, is about 14 miles from
Amraoti and about 3 miles to the west of the pahhd road to
Chandur Bazar, population 2,260, houses 472. It has a« police
station in charge of Sub-Inspector, a sub-registry, a verna-
cular school and a branch post office, A bazar is held on
Tuesdays.
430
TAtEGAON DASH\S\R— TALEGAON KHAR.
Tale^aon Dashasar. — A corruption of the Sanskrit Dasha
Sahasra. Houses 1,511, population 6,220, at one time the
largest town m the Chandur taluk, formerly contained the
tahsili which has been removed to Chandur on account of
the latter being on the line of railway. Talegaon is now
greatly decayed but the ruins of many fine houses and
temples attest its former prosperity, one of the best known of
its relics being the dargah of Fakir Shah Abdul Latlf which
IS supported by a grant of land from the Emperor Shah
Jahan,
“ The origin of its nickname, Dasha Sahasra (Talegaon of
“ the pumpkin, it might be called), is peculiar, but not very
“credible. The legend runs thus: — The wife of the j^irdar
“ and the wife of a wealthy merchant went to market one day.
“ Now it happened on this particular day that an uncommonly
“ fine pumpkin was exposed for sale. It attracts the notice
“ of both simultaneously. Their mouths water. They both
“ admire it, both desire it, and finally both try to outbid each
“ other for it. The merchant’s wife, in all the pride of wealth,
“ determines to have it at any price; the dignity of the jagirdSr’s
“ wife forbids hev giving way. The price rises rapidly. One
“ hundred is a trifle. So is five. A thousand is reached, and the
“pair get warm to their work. So they quickly bid up to five
“thousand, and from that to ten thousand, at which price it is
“ultimately knocked down. The legend unfortunately leaves us
“in the dark as to who carried off the prize, but it is currently
“believed that the merchant’s wife was the victor.” In memory
of this exciting but bloodless contest the town was dubbed
“Dasha Sahasra,” which being translated (from the Sanskrit)
means ten thousand. A more probable derivation is from
the numbers of inhabitants in the time of its prosperity.
To-day Talegaon has a cotton gin, and hand-worked spinning
and weaving frames which produce rough yarn and cloth
used by the poorer classes. It contains a police station, post
office, dispensary, and Government Anglo-MarathI and
Hindustani schools.
Talegaon Khar-— -Amraoti taluk, houses 398, population
1,932, a village lying between Balgaon Jagir and Kholipur,
with a combined post office and Marathi school to which an
English class supported by local subscriptions has been added.
TALEGAON THAKUR— TAPTI RIVER.
431
The water is very brackish, and the distinguishing name
“ Khar ” is taken from the old salt wells which used formerly
to be worked here. In the patel’s house, a small building
not otherwise noticeable, is some handsome old blackwood
carving.
Ttdeglaon Thakur. — Taluk Chandnr, houses 700, popu-
lation 2,839, is only mentioned to distinguish it from the more
important town of the same name Taiegaon Dashasar. The
name Thakur is taken from a Rajput family who hold the
patelU of this and a few neighbouring villages (v. Mojhari).
They are very well-to-do and have considerable influence
locally.
Tapti River. ' — One of the great rivers of Western India.
The name is derived from tap, heat,
^““‘'provinoes.““’"‘ ^nd the Tapti is said by the
Brahmans to have been created by
the sun to protect himself from his own warmth. The
Tapti IS believed to rise in the sacred tank of Multai {mtiU
tapi, the source of the Tapti) on the Satpura plateau, but its
real source is two miles distant (2i®48 N. and E).
It flows in a westerly direction through the Betul District,
at first traversing an open and partially cultivated plain, and
then plunging into a rocky gorge of the Satpura hills
between the Kalibhit range in Hoshangabad and Chikalda
in Berar. It touches the northern boundary of the Melghat
taluk, 3 miles to the east of Melghat ferry and runs along
the border for about 30 miles. During this course it receives
the Kapra, Sipna and Garga rivers which take their rise in
the Gawilgarh hills. Its bed here is roclcy, overhung by
steep banks, and bordered by forests. At a distance of 120
miles from its source it enters the Nimar District, dnd for 30
miles more is still confined in a comparatively narrow
valley. A few miles above Burhanpur, the valley opens out,
the Satpura hills receding north and south, and opposite that
town the river valley has become a fine rich basin of alluvial
soil about 20 miles wide. In the centre of this tract the
Tapti flows between the towns of Burhanpur and Zainabad,
and then passes into the Khandesh District of, Bombay. In
vThe article on the Tapti river is a reprint from the draft article for
the Imperial Qassetteer,
TAPTI RIVER.
432
its upper valley are several basins of exceedingly rich soil,
but they have long been covered by forest, and it is only
lately that the process of clearing them for cultivation has
been undertaken.
Shortly after entering the Khandesh District the Tapti
. . receives on the left bank the Puma
" from the hills of Berar, and then
flows for about 150 miles through a broad and fertile valley,
bounded on the north by the Satpuras, and on the south by
the Satmalas. Further on the hills close in, and the river
descends through wild and wooded country for about 80
miles, after which it sweeps southwards to the sea through
the alluvial plain of Surat, and is a tidal river for the last 30
miles of its course. The banks (30 to 60 feet) are too high
for irrigation, and the bed is crossed at several places by
ridges of rock ; hence the river is only navigable for about
20 miles from the sea. The Tapti runs so near the foot of
the Satpuras, that its tributaries on the right bank are small,
but on the left bank after its junction with the PQrna, it
receives through the Girna (150 miles long) the drainage of
the hills of Baglan, and through the Bon, the PSnjhra and
the Borai, that of the northern buttress of the Western
Ghats. The waters of the Girna and Panjhra are dammed
up in several places and used for irrigation. On the lower
course of the Tapti, floods are not uncommon, and have at
times done much damage to the city of Surat. The river is
crossed at Bhusawal by the Jubbulpore branch of the Great
Indian Peninsula Railway, at Savalda by the Bombay-Agra
road, and at Surat by the Bombay-Baroda and Central India
Railway. The Tapti has a local reputation for sanctity, the
chief ilvthas or holy places being Changdev, at the confluenOe
with the Puma, and Bodhan above Surat. The Fort ot
Talner and the city of Surat are the places of most historic
note on its course, the total length of which is 436 miles. ’
The port of Swally (Suwali), famous in early Epropeap
commerce with India, and the scene of a sea-fight between
the British and the Portuguese lay , at the mouth of the
river, but is pow deserted, its approaches having been silted
up.
THUG40\— WADNER GANGAI.
433
Thugaon.— Araraoti taluk, population 3,384, houses 696,
14 miles from Amraoti, about a mile to the west of tlie
Ellichpur road. There are country liquor, opium and gduja
shops, a pound, a vernacular school, and a branch post office.
The bazar day is Friday.
Tiosa. — Taluk Chandur, in houses and i,i8i inhabitants,
Ramratan Ganeshdas Marwari, who has a house here and is
a member of the Amraoti Bench of Magistrates, has built a
temple to Balaji, at a cost of about fifteen thousand rupees.
In the famm'e he gave a thousand rupees to local lelief. He
has a large moneylending business in the neighbourhood. The
soil of Tiosd IS very rich, and had tempted the people to
disregard rotation ; cotton being sown every year, as yet
without any perceptible deterioration in the crop. The place
has a police station and a sub-registrar’s office.
Uprai.— Houses 138, inhabitants 572, in the Daryapur
taluk, IS only mentioned as being the headquarters of the cult
of, Shah Dawal whose tomb is situated here. A full descrip-
tion ,Df the cult will be found in Chapter III.
Wadali. — See Amraoti Camp.
Wadner Gan^ai. — Daryapur taluk, houses 71 1, population
3,071, a village of no particular importance with a Hindu and
Muhammadan school. The land revenue is Rs< 19,605-7-3.
A story is current that Aurangzeb in his march through
Berar halted at this village at midday, and being thirsty
.called for milk, which, after much trouble and many threats
of the Emperor’s displeasure, his followers succeeded in
obtaining. The “Lord of the Earth” drank it and was not
only much refreshed, but noticed that a small spot of white
leprosy on his leg was healed. He enquired the cause of
,the mirqclej and was told that the milk was mother’s milk,
^n'd has been given to the King’s messengers by two old
women Sitai,and Gangai both over a hundred years of age,
whom they found near the temple of Maroti. Henceforth the
village was given its second name, though why Gangai and
not Sitai should have been selected is not clear. The village
is- also known as Wadner ZSgaji Bawa, after a Kunbi ascetic
whose shrine here has an inSm of 140, acres.
434
WALGAON JAGIR — WARDHA RIVER.
Walgaon Jagir-— See Balgaon Jagir.
Wanosa-— See Daryapur.
Wardha River. ' — A river in the Central Provinces which
rises on the Multai plateau of the Betul District (at 2i°50^
N. and 78'’24 E.), some 70 miles north-west of the town of
IjTagpur, and flowing south and south-east, separates the
Nagpur, Wardha and Chanda Districts of the Central
Provinces from Berar and the Nizam’s Dominions. For
over fifty miles of its course it forms the boundary of the
Morsi taluk and for a similar distance of that of Chandur.
After a course of 290 miles from its source, the Wardha
meets the Wamganga river at Seoni in the Chanda District,
and the united stream under the name of the Pranhita flows
on to join the Godavari. The bed of the Wardha, from its
source to its junction with the Penganga at Jugad m the
south-east corner of Yeotmal is deep and rocky, changing
from a swift torrent in the monsoon months to a succession
of nearly stagnant pools in the summer. For the last
hundred miles of its course below Chanda it flows m a clear
channel, broken only by a barrier of rocks commencing above
the confluence of the Wainganga and extending into the
Pranhita. The project entertained in the years 1866-1871
for rendering the Godavari and Wardha fit for navigation,
included the excavation of a channel through this expanse of
rock, which was known as the Third Barrier. The scheme
proved impracticable, and except that timber is sometimes
floated up from the Ahin forests in the monsoon months no
use is now made of the river for navigation. The area
drained by the Wardha includes the Wardha District, with
parts of Nagpur and Chanda in the Central Provinces and
the eastern parts of Amraoti and Yeotmal districts m Berar.
On the eastern or Central Provinces side, it is a rich tract of
country confined between the river and a range of hills to
the north, and widening to the south as the hills recede.
The valley is covered with hght blade soil, and is a well-
known cotton growing tract. In the Chanda District, the
Wardha valley coalfield extends for a long distance in the
t. The article on the Wardha river is a reprint from the draft
article for the Imperial Gazetteer.,
WARHA. — ^WARUD.
435
\icinity of the Wardha, Pranhita, and Godavan rivers. The
coal IS woiked by a Government colliery at Warora, and
flesh seams are now being exploited in other localities.
The principal tributaries of the Wardha are the Wunna and
Erai from the Central Provinces, and the Bembla and
Penganga which dram the southern and eastern portions of
the plain of Berar. The banks of the river are m several
places picturesquely crowned by small temples and tombs,
and numerous ruined forts in the background recall the wild
period through which the valley passed, during the Maratha
wais and the Pmdari raids. Kaundinyapur (Dewalw§.da)
on the Berar bank in Araraoti District, is belier-ed to
represent the site of a buried city, celebrated in the Bhagavat
as the metropolis of the kingdom of Vtdarhhcv (Berar). A
large religious fair is held there. At Ballalpur near Chanda
are ' the rums of a palace of the Gond kings and a curious
temple on an islet m the river which for some months in the
year is several feet under water. The Wardha is crossed
by the Great Indian Peninsula Railway at Pulgaon.
Warha — A prosperous but unimportant village in the
ChSndur taluk, of 655 houses and 2,958 inhabitants, the
greater part of whom are Ghasmalis. The temple of Maroti
was built by subscription at a cost of Rs. 6,ooa, A bazar is
held on Fridays.
Warud Ba^faji — A small village of about 500 people on
the banks of the Wardha river in the Chandur taluk, about
three miles distant from Mangrul Dastagir. The second name
IS derived from the samddU, or tomb, of a Hindu ascetic named
Bagaji Baba, in whose honour a fair is held annually on the
6th day of Phalgun Wadya (March). Formerly the fair lasted
for a month or so, and carts, cart wheels, cloth, copper and
brass vessels were sold. For the last fifteen years, however,
it has dwindled to an affair of a single day.
Warud or Barur. — Houses 1609, population 7179
formerly the headquarters of the Morsi taluk, the tahslli
having been moved some 30 years ago to Morsi. It is
situated on the Chandra Chudaman river ajiout 56 miles east
of Ellichpur and 53 miles from Amraoti, and is so far as
communications are concerned the most important town in
436
watiioda — yoLr.
the taluk, having a first-class metalled road thiough Morsi
to Amraoti, another to Multai by Bikatghat, and roads to
Nagpur viX tire Wardha river and Katol, and via Amner.
■Of these that by Amner is a country road, but the former is
vmvam surfaced and is shortly to be fully metalled. The
proposed raihvay will also run by here. Warud however has
neither dak nor inspection bungalow, the nearest being that
at Benoda. Turmeric is sold here, but the chief trade is m
cotton, the two gins being owned respectively by Sriram
Rupram and Snram Saligram. A Bench of Magistrates
tries petty cases and the public buildings include a police
station, a sub-registry, dispensary, post office, Anglo-Marathi
and Urdu schools. It is the headquarters of the Morsi-
Warud forest range. There are several old temples and
two new and small but very creditable mosques.
Wathoda. — About 4 miles north of Kholapur on the
Puma, has a population of 2121. It has a vernacular school
and a branch post office, an opium and a country liquor
shop. A temple of Sukleshwar has for its maintenance a
field of 21 acres and 28 gunthas rent free.
Wirud . — Taluk Chandur, houses 481, population 2163, is
situated to the north of Chandur four miles from the raihvay.
The village is an unimportant one m spite of its size, having
the usual school and post office and a weekly bazar on
Fridays. Four small temples are supported by a grant
of imm land, and it is said that before the British
Administration a peculiarly painful vow was regularly
performed before them. The devotee would lake a length
of coarse string and pass it under the skm on both sides of
his body. Two friends would then hold the ends and he
would walk to and fro along it in front of the temples, the
string sawing his flesh as he did so.
Yoli. — Amraoti taluk, 16 miles from Amraoti and 4 miles
fiom Mahuh on the Morsi road. The land around the village
IS boggy and' communication is difficult during the rains.
The population is 2059. The teacher of 'the vernacular
school is m charge of a branch post office and the patel
manages a cattle pound.
YEODA.
437
Yeoda. — Daryapur taluk, houses 832, population 3419, a
Jaige village having 11,556 acres of land under cultivation
and paying Rs. 30,000 land revenue; totals only surpassed
m Beiar by Shegaon m the Buldana District. Under the
Nizam, a Naib Peshkar or Mahalkari named Ukadsing was
stationed here for a considerable time and built the temple
of Ramchandra, still in existence. Marathi and Urdu
schools are established here. The village is occasionally
spoken of as Yeoda Ukadsing.
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